The Ferdinand Group ( TFG ) – owned by English football legend Rio Ferdinand – acquires a minority stake in “Kora Break”, the fastest-growing football application in the Middle East and North Africa.
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The multi-million dollar deal is the first of its kind for an international company to invest in a sports media platform in Saudi Arabia.
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“Kora Break ” aims to invest the deal in reaching a larger segment of audiences in new markets in Europe and Asia and creating promising opportunities for the Arabic and English content industry.
“Kora Break ” receives 800 million views per month through a group of promising accounts .. in addition to partnerships with major competitions, most notably the Italian League and the Saudi Professional League.
Kora Break, a platform owned by the “Creativity and Development” Marketing Group, has closed an investment round led by “ TheFerdinand ” Group, owned by English football legend Rio Ferdinand; targeting work to enhance investments in the sports media industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Ferdinand Group ( TFG ) has acquired a multi-million dollar stake in Kora Break, a partnership that marks one of the first times a global sports and media company has targeted a significant stake in a Saudi sports platform, and represents a major milestone in the development of the sports media industry in the Kingdom.
The partnership between “ Kora Break ” and “ TheFerdinand ” Group is one of the most important gains in the interest of foreign investors in investing in sports media and partnering with brands, in a scene that is in line with the directions of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which supports initiatives to attract foreign direct investment and develop the sports and entertainment sector.
The partnership between “ Kora Break ” and “ TheFerdinand ” Group comes within the plan of the first digital platform of its kind in the Kingdom, which enjoys 800 million views per month, and partnerships with major competitions around the world, including the Italian League and the Saudi Professional League, to support its investment agenda, through a package of promising global agreements.
Rio Ferdinand , who is also a commentator for TNT Sports in the UK , has an influential social media presence , with 6.5 million followers on Instagram , 11.5 million on X , and over a million on YouTube . His recent YouTube interview with Al Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo has been viewed 16 million times .
The investment round is part of a broader collaboration focused on expanding digital content across Arabic and English, enhancing fan engagement, and building strategic partnerships with football clubs and organisations.
The deal has the potential to bring coverage of Arab football competitions via Koora Break to new audiences in European markets, while strengthening its position as a leader in a fast-growing sports sector, while expanding the scope of Ferdinand Group’s work across social media channels.
Saudi Arabia has a vibrant football heritage and Vision 2030 has revolutionised the creative sector, producing many young innovators and entrepreneurs, and Koora Break is a great example of how sports and technology systems can produce local champions, ” said Rio Ferdinand, founder of Ferdinand Group.
“ Kora Break not only provides premium football and sports coverage across Saudi Arabia and the region, which will grow significantly ahead of the 2034 World Cup, but it also innovates through fan engagement and the use of AI and data to deliver the best sports product through the fastest growing app in the Middle East, supporting the group’s drive to grow its global content development capabilities,” Ferdinand added.
In turn, Bader Al-Hamad, founder of the “ Kora Break ” platform, said: “ By closing this investment round and cooperating with a partner of the stature of “ Ferdinand Group ”, the Kora Break application demonstrates its level of ambition and its potential for rapid expansion and development.
Al-Hamad explained: “ This investment is in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which seeks to attract international investments and develop the sports and entertainment sectors and reflects the growing global interest in the dynamic sports media scene in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. ”
“ With the support of Ferdinand Group, Kora Break is poised to enter a new phase of growth, creating opportunities for collaboration, enhancing its digital capabilities, and redefining fan engagement in the region and beyond. This partnership is a testament to the platform’s ambition and its role in shaping the future of sports media,” added the founder of Kora Break.
TheFerdinand is a multinational entity comprising a diverse group of companies, covering education, media and television production, consulting, sports technology, and player representation, and comprises former Premier League stars, documentary filmmakers, PR and media professionals, educators, and entrepreneurs.
TheFerdinand is a group led by Rio Ferdinand, a sports legend, businessman, documentary filmmaker, BAFTA award winner, former captain of Manchester United and the England national team, and a prominent sports analyst on British television.
About Kora Break
“Kora Break“, a Saudi Arabia-based investment platform launched in 2022, is one of the influential media entities in the Middle East and North Africa, through unique and pioneering qualitative and digital content covering the Arab world in general, and the Saudi market in particular. It also has an application for football statistics and results, the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia, in addition to extensive and extended relationships with clubs, federations, club associations, players and influencers in this important sector.
