Stadium Traveller is flipping the script. We spoke with Nicolas, the mind behind a platform designed to bring soccer fans together through genuine connections and shared adventures.
Here's our conversation:
Hey Nicolas! It's been a while! Tell me, what is Stadium Traveller?
Stadium Traveller is an online platform where fans can plan their soccer stadium visits. You get all the practical info like ticketing, access details, and reviews from other fans—kind of like TripAdvisor for stadiums. The idea is to build the ultimate community for soccer lovers!
Awesome! So, who uses the app and how does it work?
Our users are pretty diverse—everything from young adults in their 20s to older folks in their 50s and 60s. We've got "groundhoppers" who love ticking off stadiums, fans traveling for their team, and people who just want practical info to plan their visits. You can create a profile, connect with friends, and see what everyone's up to in our new feed feature.
I'm wondering—why would an independent app be more appealing than a Facebook group, Reddit channel, or Twitter account that could offer similar features? What makes the app stand out and be more valuable?
In fact, we've already built a community on social media—like on Twitter, where we have 13.9K followers and get millions of impressions each weekend. People reach out to us for help, and we connect them with others who can assist. The app is more interesting because it offers a centralized, trusted place for stadium information—over 2000 stadiums, with ticketing information available for the most popular venues—so it's easy to find everything in one spot. During the last Euros 2024, Stadium Traveller appeared as the top result when fans were searching for stadium informations. I believe that the app isn't here to replace social media but instead complements them by centralizing everything and being a trusted source of information.
Nice! Can you share any interesting stories or memorable moments from using the app?
Yeah! One funny story from the Euros: France was in the semi-finals in Munich. We tried to position ourselves as specialists by sharing detailed guides for all the Euro stadiums—ticketing info, access tips, and even train options. We discovered there were night trains in Germany, including a Munich-Paris route with a short transfer at Mannheim. Hundreds of French fans ended up taking that specific overnight train. The info spread quickly through word of mouth, and many improvised an overnight stay at Munich station—sleeping on the floor while waiting for their trains. There wasn't much pre-organization, but everyone followed the exact same plan. It was pretty crazy!
Incredible, I agree! So, what's next for the app?
We've been fully online since March 2023. The platform already has a lot of features, so we could actually go without releasing anything new for 2-3 years. But we're still working on educating users and building the community, which is taking longer than we anticipated. We're currently running a crowdfunding campaign. Even though we have thousands of visitors and millions of impressions, it's still not enough to attract ads yet. The goal now is to keep building so the community grows and we become the go-to reference.
With The White Mirror, we really care a lot about how people can get connected. I think there's a community aspect to what you do, which is quite interesting. Is that something that comes up often? Do people frequently mention it to you?
Absolutely! There are a lot of people, especially men, who feel lonely in their lives. For them, soccer is one of the few things that holds them. We have many who travel alone, tour stadiums alone, and are happy to make connections. There are also many who dream of doing it but can't. They're looking for people to travel with, and they're thrilled to find someone who shares their passion. Social networks help connect them easily, showing they're not alone and motivating them by seeing others doing it too.
Great! By the way, how do people hear about you today? how do they discover the app?
Word of mouth works really well for us. One person uses it and tells others, and it spreads from there. We also have great visibility on networks like Twitter and TikTok—just a tweet can reach millions of people. As more people see that we're the go-to source, they follow us. And then through Google search, as we gradually build up information on more stadiums. For example, this year, the most searched term was 'Dusseldorf stadium map'—French fans looking for how to get there found us because we have a category called 'maps' and we were the top result.
Thanks for sharing all that, Nicolas! Where's the best place for people to connect with you and learn more?
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