Goal (website)

Last updated

Goal
Goal Website Logo.svg
Type of site
Sports journalism
Available in
Founded1998;27 years ago (1998) (as a domain name)
Headquarters,
England
Area servedWorldwide
Owner
Founder(s)
  • Chicco Merighi
  • Gian Luigi Longinotti-Buitoni
CEOJuan Delgado
Industry Journalism
Services Association football news
URL goal.com
Launched1998 (domain)
2005 (current state)
Current statusActive

Goal, stylized in all caps and alternatively known as Goal.com, is a website currently dedicated to the coverage of international association football. Currently owned by the Integrated Media Company (IMC) division of TPG Inc. since 2020, [1] it is published in 18 languages across 38 global regions and edited by over 500 contributors as of 2019. [2]

Contents

History

Sports statics company Perform Group acquired Goal.com for £18 million from its previous investors, which included Bessemer Venture Partners. [3] [4] [5] In 2012, the website was investigated by HM Revenue and Customs department of the UK government over the use of unpaid interns. [6]

In August 2016, Perform Group launched the online sports video streaming service DAZN. In September 2018 Perform Group was split into two companies: DAZN Group (named after its streaming service) for its consumer content operations, and Perform Content for its business-to-business services. Under this new structure, GOAL sat under DAZN. In March 2019, DAZN re-organized the Perform Media division into DAZN Media, which includes GOAL. In late 2020, GOAL, alongside Spox and Voetbalzone were packaged as a new company called FootballCo. Shortly after, a majority stake in FootballCo. was purchased by Integrated Media Company (IMC) which is a division of TPG Capital. [1]

As of mid-2023, Goal was the fifth most popular sports news website in the UK, with 1.5 million monthly British readers according to a report by Press Gazette. [7]

Awards

In 2017 and 2020, GOAL won the Best Sports News Site award at The Drum Online Media Awards. [8]

GOAL50

Since the 2007–08 season, the best 50 players of the respective season are selected by GOAL reporters and ranked as part of Goal's "Goal 50." [9] Starting from the 2018–19 season, the 50 players were divided into 25 men and 25 women, with a winner from both genders being crowned. In 2021 voting was changed, with the list of available players chosen by GOAL journalists and the ranking decided by a public vote.

Lionel Messi is the record winner of the award having won it 7 times overall. Lionel-Messi-Argentina-2022-FIFA-World-Cup.jpg
Lionel Messi is the record winner of the award having won it 7 times overall.

Men's winners

SeasonWinnerClub(s)
2007–08 Flag of Portugal.svg Cristiano Ronaldo Flag of England.svg Manchester United
2008–09 Flag of Argentina.svg Lionel Messi Flag of Spain.svg Barcelona
2009–10 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Wesley Sneijder Flag of Italy.svg Internazionale
2010–11 Flag of Argentina.svg Lionel Messi Flag of Spain.svg Barcelona
2011–12 Flag of Portugal.svg Cristiano Ronaldo Flag of Spain.svg Real Madrid
2012–13 Flag of Argentina.svg Lionel Messi Flag of Spain.svg Barcelona
2013–14 Flag of Portugal.svg Cristiano Ronaldo Flag of Spain.svg Real Madrid
2014–15 Flag of Argentina.svg Lionel Messi Flag of Spain.svg Barcelona
2015–16 Flag of Portugal.svg Cristiano Ronaldo Flag of Spain.svg Real Madrid
2016–17 Flag of Portugal.svg Cristiano Ronaldo
2017–18 Flag of Croatia.svg Luka Modrić
2018–19 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Virgil van Dijk Flag of England.svg Liverpool
2019–20 Flag of Poland.svg Robert Lewandowski Flag of Germany.svg Bayern Munich
2020–21 Flag of Argentina.svg Lionel Messi [10] Flag of Spain.svg Barcelona
2021–22 Flag of Argentina.svg Lionel Messi [11] Flag of France.svg Paris Saint-Germain
2022–23 Flag of Argentina.svg Lionel Messi [12] Flag of France.svg Paris Saint-Germain
Flag of the United States.svg Inter Miami
2023–24 Flag of Spain.svg Rodri Flag of England.svg Manchester City

Women's winners

SeasonWinnerClub(s)
2018–19 Flag of the United States.svg Megan Rapinoe Flag of the United States.svg Reign FC
2019–20 Flag of Denmark.svg Pernille Harder Flag of Germany.svg VfL Wolfsburg
Flag of England.svg Chelsea
2020–21 Flag of Spain.svg Alexia Putellas Flag of Spain.svg Barcelona
2021–22
2022–23 Flag of Zambia.svg Racheal Kundananji Flag of Spain.svg Madrid CFF
2023–24 Flag of Spain.svg Aitana Bonmatí Flag of Spain.svg Barcelona

NXGN

Since the 2015–16 season, GOAL has ranked the 50 best players aged under 19 for that respective season, with selections made by GOAL's network of journalists. The resulting list is known as the NXGN list, with the first-ranked players receiving the NXGN winner's award. [13]

Since 2020, a women's list and award has also been published and handed out. [14]

Men's winners

SeasonWinnerClub(s)
2015–16 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Youri Tielemans Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Anderlecht
2016–17 Flag of Italy.svg Gianluigi Donnarumma Flag of Italy.svg Milan
2017–18 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Justin Kluivert Flag of the Netherlands.svg Ajax
2018–19 Flag of England.svg Jadon Sancho Flag of Germany.svg Borussia Dortmund
2019–20 Flag of Brazil.svg Rodrygo Flag of Spain.svg Real Madrid
2020–21 Flag of Spain.svg Ansu Fati Flag of Spain.svg Barcelona
2021–22 Flag of England.svg Jude Bellingham Flag of Germany.svg Borussia Dortmund
2023–24 Flag of Spain.svg Lamine Yamal Flag of Spain.svg Barcelona

Women's winners

SeasonWinnerClub(s)
2019–20 Flag of Germany.svg Lena Oberdorf Flag of Germany.svg SGS Essen
2020–21 Flag of Sweden.svg Hanna Bennison Flag of Sweden.svg FC Rosengård
2021–22 Flag of Haiti.svg Melchie Dumornay Flag of France.svg Reims

References

  1. 1 2 "IMC sign agreement to acquire Goal". Goal. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  2. "Goal". Perform Group . Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  3. Farey-Jones, Daniel (23 February 2011). "Perform challenges Sky with Goal.com acquisition". Campaign . Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  4. Wauters, Robin (23 February 2011). "Score! Perform Group Buys Goal.com From Bessemer To Go Direct-To-Consumer". TechCrunch . Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  5. Sweney, Mark (16 May 2012). "Perform buys data company RunningBall for £95m". The Guardian . Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  6. Malik, Shiv (23 December 2012). "Football site Goal.com investigated over use of 30 unpaid interns a week". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  7. Majid, Aisha (13 July 2023). "Most popular websites for sports news in UK: updated ranking". Press Gazette. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  8. "The Drum: Best Sports News Site". The Drum. Archived from the original on 7 October 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  9. "Cahill named in Goal 50 list". Socceroos. 29 July 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  10. "GOAL50 2021: Messi and Putellas crowned winners after historic fan vote". Goal.com. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  11. "GOAL50 2022: Messi, Putellas and Maradona crowned winners after global fan vote". Goal.com. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  12. "GOAL50 2023: Lionel Messi beats Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham to men's award as Racheal Kundananji crowned women's winner after global fan vote". Goal.com. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  13. "NxGn 2019". Goal. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  14. "NxGn 2020: The 10 best wonderkids in women's football | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 29 July 2021.