Football has never been short of opinions. Every match sparks debate, every transfer divides supporters and every weekend creates new talking points.
Yet for many fans, sharing those opinions online has become increasingly difficult. Toxic comment sections, personal abuse and relentless negativity often drown out the conversations that make football special.
Striver was created to change that.
Built around the idea that football should bring people together rather than drive them apart, the platform gives supporters a space where debate is encouraged but abuse is not.
We sat down with our founder Tim Chase to discuss the journey from an idea sparked at home to building a global football community, why meaningful fan engagement matters, and how Striver is creating stronger connections between players and supporters.
How The Idea For Striver Was Born
Jude (Striver): Let's take it right back to the beginning. What were you doing before Striver, and where did the original idea come from?
Tim Chase: Before all this, I was actually a tech headhunter, recruiting senior staff for startups, so I was very used to the fast-paced tech world.
But the real "eureka" moment came from a personal conversation with my son. I was always preaching to him that love, family, and making the world a better place are the most important things in life.
But then it hit me: if I went to his school and talked about my recruitment job, absolutely nothing about my day-to-day work actually correlated to the values I was teaching him.
I wanted to build something that mattered. Around that time, I noticed he was completely glued to his iPad—relentlessly watching YouTube channels like Ryan's World.
I realized there had to be a way to turn that passive watching into active participation. I thought, if a creator says, "This is how you build the best fort. Go grab mom and dad’s duvet and ten pillows and show me what you can do," that acts as a challenge to get kids up and moving. Let's face it, as his dad, I'm never going to be cooler than an iPad!
I couldn't find a platform doing that anywhere. So, tapping into my network, I spoke to a brilliant CTO named Darren Goldsby, and we set out to build it ourselves.
Why Striver Chose Football Over Every Other Sport
Jude: So how did that original idea of video challenges evolve into the global football family we have today?
Tim Chase: It was initially going to be sports in general, simply because sports is the ultimate space where people love to vocalize their opinions and show off their skills.
But then I met Gilberto Silva, and subsequently Roberto Carlos and the other amazing legends we work with.
We quickly realized that "sports" as a whole was a bit too broad. But football? Football is the biggest community on earth.
There are 5 billion of us globally. We realized that if we could create a safe, engaging space for the beautiful game, that was the ultimate place to make a difference.
Jude: Some people hear "hate-free" and assume that means criticism isn't allowed. Where do you draw the line?
Tim Chase: That’s a really important distinction: you can absolutely be frustrated on Striver. We do not stop negativity or passionate debate. We just stop that top-tier level of toxicity, hate, and personal abuse that ruins the experience for everyone else.
It’s not about stopping the debate; it’s about how we debate. You can agree to disagree, it just can't cross the line into abuse.
We built a hate-free platform specifically because we want to be the most engaged platform on the planet. The biggest barrier keeping normal people from commenting online is the fear of being attacked.
Look at the data, TikTok is considered the most engaged platform in the world, yet only 2% of its users actually engage. Instagram is at 0.6%, and X (Twitter) sits at a shocking 0.015%.
On Striver, our current community engagement rate is 58%. That is massive. Football is our escape from the stresses of daily life, and we want to protect that safe zone so you always feel confident sharing your voice.
How Striver Gives Football Fans A Voice
Jude: Was there a moment when you realised Striver was becoming something much bigger than just another app?
Tim Chase: We see incredible things every single week, but one of our earliest milestones will always stick with me.
We ran a three-week challenge with a young YouTuber called Keyl Skills, and the prize was a £100 voucher for football boots, a kit, and a Champions League football.
We narrowed the entries down to two young people who were just blowing us away with their talent. One was a lad named Jackson who later got signed by an academy, and the other was a young girl named Becca who was doing unbelievable 'around the world' tricks with a basketball and flicking it over crossbars.
We couldn’t decide on a winner, so we doubled the prize money and let the community vote. Over 38,000 people voted on these two kids that nobody had ever heard of before.
When I called Becca's mom to tell her the news, she got incredibly emotional. She told me that Becca had quite high autism, and football was her absolute security blanket. Her mom said, "You don't understand the validation this is giving my daughter."
Hearing her say that proved everything to us. Because we are abuse-free, we can unearth these beautiful stories and have proper, constructive discussions where people who would normally stay silent finally feel safe to step into the spotlight.
Why Fan Engagement Matters More Than Ever
Jude: Looking at the whole football landscape, what do you think the big clubs and players are missing out on when it comes to the fans?
Tim Chase: It is really simple: they are forgetting to actually give you a voice.
Too many clubs and agencies view social media purely as a one-way broadcasting tool to get views. But if you transition from just talking at people to actually talking with them, the shift in loyalty is extraordinary.
We recently took one player from 600,000 impressions a month to 4.6 million in just a single month simply by creating content centered entirely around his fans.
I’ve seen them get off 12-hour flights, drive for hours, play matches, sign hundreds of autographs, and jump right back on a plane just to show their commitment to the fans.
We deliberately choose to partner with players who actually care about you. That’s the loop we are closing here. We listen to you, we showcase what you're saying, and we prove that you are the true heart of the game.
If you want to share your opinions on anything football and want to join a community where your voice actually matters, we’re waiting for you. Download the Striver app today, share your thoughts and connect to your favourite players. Join the 58% of fans who are changing football social media for good.
