Football history was written last week as Joseph Iyendjock, a former Cameroon youth international, became the first ever fan-backed player to sign a contract with a European club.
In just under 10 days, 20 year-old Iyendjock raised €18,000 through fan support after being the first athlete to be listed on the app Nordensa. He's now joined Georgian champions Dinamo Tbilisi on a two-year contract.
Nordensa is the world's first fan-powered platform for football talent, which gives fans the opportunity to support young players from underexplored countries in achieving their dreams to play in Europe, as well as to share in their future success.
The campaign was backed by football fans from over 20 countries, who between them bought a total of 600 contract shares priced at €30 each. Between all backers, they'll be entitled to a cut of up to 8% of Joseph's salary for the next five years, as well as other exclusive perks.
And while the campaign's goal was to raise the funds to cover Iyendjock's first year salary and associated expenses with Dinamo Tbilisi (who in a few days will be playing their first qualifier for next season's UEFA Champions League), the club has already stretched this to a two-year contract with the Cameroonian wunderkind - who has also played in his country's youth national team.
Nordensa allows football fans to discover the world's hottest new talent, already vetted by the platform's own team of Premier League and Bundesliga scouts. The app launched earlier this month and is available via the App Store, with Android and desktop versions coming soon.
Iyendjock declared: “This is a dream come true. Nordensa and Dinamo Tbilisi have made it a reality for me to be able to come to Europe and play for Georgia's best football club, and it's all thanks to the fans. To think that just a few weeks ago I was talking to the team at Nordensa from my home in Cameroon and now I'm getting ready with the team for our Champions League qualifier is a real pinch-me moment.
"I can't wait to give it my absolute best and take this opportunity to write football history with Nordensa, Dinamo Tbilisi and the best fans in the world."
Adrian Docea, CEO and Founder at Nordensa says: “Together with the fans of the world's biggest sport, we're literally rewriting football history. From concept to reality this has been close to a year in the making, but football fans have astonished us again by completing a support campaign for our first ever athlete in just under 10 days. It's a testament to the idea of fans owning a real piece of the action, and we couldn't be happier to be making this a reality for Joseph: the first of our next football stars, and a symbol of the future of football."
