A Darlington teacher is hoping to score some new fans this football season as he launches an exciting new fantasy football app.
Chris Duffy - who currently teaches engineering at Hurworth School - first created Attack V Defence as a pass time for his friends during the Covid lockdown.
Fuelled by his love of football and spreadsheets skills, he decided to take his game to the next level - branching out from a WhatsApp chat and creating a new web app.
The 41-year-old now hopes to kick off the upcoming Premier League football season on a high by getting more and more people hooked on his fantasy football game.
Middlesbrough-born Chris, who lives in Ingleby Barwick, told The Northern Echo: “So I started around 2015 - I’m a teacher and I have always loved football since I was a kid, I’ve supported Boro my entire life.
“I use spreadsheets for anything data or tracking results, and alongside that I have also played a lot of fantasy football over the years.
“I just thought, with what I can do with spreadsheets, and with my interest in football, maybe I could come up with my own.”
The project started simply as a hobby for Chris and his group of friends, where he would ask them to submit two attacking teams and two defending teams each week.
Initially, Chris would enter the details into a spreadsheet after his pals sent over their teams via WhatsApp.
“People said they enjoyed it and asked if they could invite more friends,” he explained. “We got really positive feedback and I thought maybe I could turn it into something bigger.”
He then started working on branding and logos, created a new website and social media accounts, and set out to find an app developer.
Last August, he teamed up with young Yarm entrepreneur Jack Pickering, who founded pub and restaurant app Snapps and is one of the three figures behind Yarm Driving Range.
“To be honest, I thought to myself, If I don’t do this I’ll regret it,” he said.
“I spent four years developing the rules from a small group on WhatsApp - the next big jump would be to move to a play store or app store. It’s currently just a web app - but this is very similar to a normal app.
“The main selling point compared to the main fantasy football sites is that if you miss a week,. You are not out for the running.”
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Chris is currently in his 20th year of teaching, but would love for Attack V Defence to become more than just a hobby.
The game is free to play - but moving forward, he said would love to be able to partner up and introduce a cash prize for the winner.
You can find Attack V Defence on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram with the handle '@avdfantasyfooty’ and online here.
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