Kellyn Acosta, a Chicago Fire midfielder with 58 U.S. national team appearances, has become an investor in soccer training and entertainment company Toca Football Inc.
Financial details and Acosta’s stake in the company were not disclosed. As part of the company equity deal, he will serve as a brand ambassador.
Toca is Acosta’s first soccer-related investment.
“I fell in love with the product and Toca’s business model,” Acosta said during a video call. “Being focused on soccer, I’m passionate about making the sport accessible to everyone.”
The 28-year-old World Cup veteran joins a growing list of investors from the sports and entertainment world, including England national team captains Harry Kane and Leah Williamson, Angel City FC’s Alyssa and Gisele Thompson, and most recently, Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen. The company counts a handful of players and executives as board members and advisors, including U.S. women’s national team legend Abby Wambach plus Julie Haddon, the CMO of the National Women’s Soccer League.
Founded in 2016 by former USMNT and MLS midfielder Eddie Lewis, Toca raised $40 million in Series E funding in 2021 in a round led by WestRiver Group, RNS Toca Partners, D2 Futbol Investors and Jared Smith, co-founder and former COO of Experience Management company Qualtrics. This brought Toca’s capital raised to $105 million.
“Eddie relates, and it’s always hard to find someone who relates to you,” Acosta said. “As a fellow midfielder, he knows the game’s chaos, and we midfielders are there to bring a calming presence.”
The California-based company operates indoor soccer centers and offers training at 39 facilities in North America. The company signed a 10-year partnership with MLS in 2022 to serve as official training and entertainment facility partner. Toca plans to expand to between 200 and 300 locations.
“Messi wasn’t Messi just by accident,” Acosta said. “He put hours into it. Toca provides real-life situations you can replicate repeatedly, creating muscle memory for touching, turning and feeling the ball.”