Undisclosed · Other round · E-commerce · Morbach, Germany
Morbach-based Kitts has raised an undisclosed funding round from kicker Ventures, the investment arm of football media group Olympia-Verlag. In its investment announcement, kicker said it would support the football-shirt marketplace with the reach of its media channels as well as capital. Reporting from Deutsche Startups says the investor now owns 7.5% of Kitts.
Kitts is building a re-commerce marketplace for football and other sports shirts. The platform combines verified dealers, who commit to product authenticity, with private sellers and buyer protection. Payments are released to the seller after the buyer receives the shirt and raises no issue, addressing a category where fakes, uncertain provenance and fragmented sellers can make transactions risky.
Distribution can help solve marketplace liquidity
A specialist marketplace has to attract both collectors with desirable inventory and buyers searching for particular clubs, seasons or players. Kicker brings an audience already organised around football teams, matches and history. That creates a direct route to place relevant inventory in front of likely collectors, which could lower customer-acquisition costs and make it easier for sellers to find demand.
The strategic fit does not remove the hard part. Kitts still needs enough depth across thousands of shirt variants while keeping trust high as more private sellers join. Verification standards, dispute handling and seller quality will determine whether broader supply improves selection or increases the platform's operational burden.
Opening the platform expands supply
Co-founder Marvin Docke said Kitts rebuilt the platform and now lets anyone list shirts, while verified dealers retain an authenticity commitment. The company has also added buyer protection, a collection feature and a new app. Those changes broaden the marketplace beyond a curated dealer model and make repeat engagement possible even when users are not actively buying.
Kitts was founded in 2025 by World Cup winner Christoph Kramer, Alexander Herlach and sports-marketing agency Five Aside, represented by Docke. Kickbase founders Anatol Korel and Felix van de Sand had previously backed the company. The new investor adds a distribution partner whose brand is already embedded in German football culture; the next evidence point is whether that reach converts into active listings, repeat purchases and trusted transactions.
Sources checked:
kicker — investor announcement; Marvin Docke — company announcement; kicker — founder and product reporting; Deutsche Startups — financing report; Kitts — product site; Tech.eu Funding Explorer — event taxonomy and source record.
The display date uses the dated 10 September 2026 reporting and Tech.eu record because the accessible investor and company announcement pages did not expose a stable absolute date.
