TOCA Welcomes Former NFL Marketing Executive Julie Haddon to Its Board of Directors
COSTA MESA, Calif., Aug. 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- TOCA Football, Inc. (TOCA), the world's only technology-enabled soccer experiences and entertainment company, today announced the appointment of sports, media and technology marketing executive Julie Haddon to its Board of Directors.
"Julie is a pioneer in sports and entertainment marketing, and we are delighted to welcome her to our Board at a pivotal time as TOCA expands its presence and global brand around the world. Julie has delivered some of the most innovative and impactful strategic marketing programs for the NFL and as co-owner of the Chicago Red Stars, Julie is committed to our mission to make soccer a more inclusive and accessible game for all," said TOCA Co-Chairs Erik Anderson and Tom Denison. "Her addition helps position TOCA for continued growth as a leader in sports experiences and reflects our commitment to the diversity in leadership we hope to see more of in the world of sports."
Haddon joins TOCA with over 20 years of experience building global audiences for brands at the intersection of media, entertainment and technology. She is the co-owner of the Chicago Red Stars, the Women's NWSL professional soccer team, and was the Senior Vice President of Global Brand & Consumer Marketing for the National Football League (NFL), where she led a 65-person marketing organization responsible for driving growth of a multi-billion dollar NFL business unit that includes NFL Digital Media commerce products (Fantasy/GamePass/NFL Mobile/Shops), NFL Network Programming and NFL Films content. Haddon was the founding Executive Sponsor of NFL Pride, the organization's first-ever LGBT employee resource group and was an Executive Producer of the hit documentary "A Lifetime of Sundays", featuring four iconic women owners of the NFL. Prior to the NFL, Haddon served as Head of Marketing at various entertainment companies including DreamWorks Animation and Disney's Blue Sky Studios. Prior to the NFL, she was part of the early team at Twitter, and as a consultant, helped scale the company beyond its first 1MM users and created the popular "Verified Account" feature that contributed to Twitter's explosive growth over a decade ago. She began her career with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
"Soccer is the most-loved sport in the world, and TOCA allows players and fans alike to engage with the sport in truly unique ways," said Haddon. "Soccer is no longer a sport just for athletes, it is breaking through lifestyle and entertainment in ways we haven't seen before and changing the way we approach the game altogether. I'm excited to join a company that's dedicated to sharing the joy of soccer with everyone, as well as ushering in a new era of digital technology-focused sport, social and entertainment experiences."
"TOCA is transforming the intersection of sports and entertainment and bringing innovative experiences to new communities. We are thrilled to be able to draw on Julie's vast knowledge and expertise as we continue to deliver our unique soccer experiences to more people in more places around the globe," said Yoshi Maruyama, CEO of TOCA.
TOCA recently announced that it had secured $40 million in its latest round of financing. To date, TOCA has raised a total of $105 million in capital. TOCA previously announced the closing of its Series E funding led by existing shareholders WRG, RNS and D2 Futbol Investors, LLC., who were also joined by a group of new investors including Jared Smith, co-founder and former COO of Experience Management (XM) company Qualtrics.
For more information on TOCA, visit www.tocafootball.com.
ABOUT TOCA FOOTBALL
Headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, TOCA Football, Inc. is a technology-enabled soccer experiences and entertainment company that aims to transform the sports experience and to build communities that inspire everybody to play. TOCA provides an authentic soccer experience on demand, making players better and getting more people to play. This shared TOCA experience is the basis of a global, inclusive TOCA community in which we all share our love of the World's most popular sport.
TOCA was founded in 2014 by two-time U.S. World Cup and former MLS and English Premier League midfielder Eddie Lewis. He led the development of TOCA's training platform, which employs a proprietary ball machine, digitalized targets and a data-enhanced app to create a welcoming environment for players at every level. TOCA recently opened new sport centers in the Chicagoland area, Nashville, and Dallas, and added US Women's National Champion, Abby Wambach, to its board.
TOCA was named to Forbes' list of Top 500 Startup Employers in 2020 and was recently nominated for a Football Business Award in innovation, alongside LaLiga-Vizrt, EA Sports, Vodafone and others.
For more information please visit TOCAfootball.com or follow @tocafootball on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. For TOCA Social, please visit www.toca.social and on Instagram @tocasocial
Media Contact
Renee Rossi
Renee@relativity.ventures