· The team · FOOTYUP FCOur
Our
team
Four full-time. Four advisors. A growing roster of part-time referees, photographers and writers. We're small on purpose.
· Founder & CEO
Alexei
Built two member clubs before FOOTYUP. Played semi-pro at Al Wasl. Won’t shut up about formations.
· Co-founder & Ops
Lina Haddad
Ten years running event operations at scale. Logistics, vendors, the bit that actually runs the club.
· Head of Football
Stefan Ortega
UEFA B coach. Designs the rotation format, picks the referees, writes the match reports nobody else wants to write.
· Product & Design
Yuki Tanaka
Built the app and the booking flow. Plays as a deep-lying playmaker, badly.
Advisors & guides
4 peopleHA
Hassan Al-Rashid
Former MD, Dubai Sports Council
CB
Camila Borges
Founding partner, Mundial Magazine
Eduard Strauss
Director of football, FC St. Pauli (ret.)
PM
Priya Menon
Operating partner, RAED Ventures
In the press
6 mentions · 2026–27↗· 12 Apr 26The National"A members-only football club that takes Tuesday-night five-a-side seriously enough to deserve the attention."↗· 03 Mar 26Time Out Dubai"The first thing in Dubai’s amateur football scene that feels designed, not just thrown together on WhatsApp."↗· 24 Feb 26GQ Middle East"Football, but rebranded for adults with calendars and meeting fatigue."↗· 18 Jan 26Esquire"A small club with very particular ideas about how amateur football should look."↗· 09 Jan 26The Athletic"FOOTYUP isn’t a startup pretending to be a club. It’s a club using software where it helps."↗· 03 Dec 25Mundial"There is a version of evening football that is good, kind, well-organised. We found it."
Press kit
Logos, founders' bios, brand colours, high-res photography from the season. For interview requests email 1@footyup.com.