LOS ANGELES, 17 August 2007 -- David Beckham’s arrival is a sign that the United States’ soccer fan base has finally been acknowledged. With strong numbers in the youth leagues and the rise of the MLS, the sport’s popularity is growing exponentially. Now, American fans who have long had to visit European soccer sites for their fill, finally have OleOle.com to create their own meeting ground in a virtual, interactive online community of soccer fanatics around the world.

Since its beta aunch in March 2007, OleOle has grown to almost 8,000 users. According to site statistics, the number of U.S. soccer fans on the site is second only to Brazil. Recognizing the need for an American and international virtual community, OleOle.com uses new generation web tools to create a complete home for football fans on the internet, featuring blogs, customized news feeds, forums, Podcasts, video streaming, social networks, photos, and other features that members can use to generate the content featured on this site.

The site is free to use, and emphasizes participation of the fan community as the key factor of its success. It covers all major soccer leagues and reports live scores from each continent. Users send in reports, videos, and blogs, which are then evaluated by other users. Fans can sign up, interact, make friends, discuss football, write articles, share photos and videos, and contribute to the creation of the world’s largest online football community.

Fans also create their own communities within regions, states and cities, while having access to content from around the world on the same site. OleOle works with its regional members to organize local meetups and events, translating the virtual community into a “real world” one. OleOle also offers its top bloggers a chance to be a part of the “real world,” by giving them press passes to report on big events. In June 2007, two of OleOle’s top bloggers covered the Copa America in Venezuela.

Most recently, OleOle launched the unique European Super League — the world’s first Pan-European fantasy football game. Members can pick players from any team in the top leagues in England, Spain, Italy, France, and Germany. There are thousands of players to choose from, and prizes to win. The top prize is a ticket to a European final, with flight and accommodation fully paid. Players can also win Sony PS3s, PSPS, iPods, jerseys, videogames, and OleOle merchandise. There are also individual games for the leagues in England, Spain, Italy, France and Germany, also accompanied by prizes.

OleOle is accessible in five languages — English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Italian — with German, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese to be added.