On September 13, 2022, Rodansnap, Inc., a soccer-focused English education startup, announced that it has raised a seed round of funding. The raised amount is undisclosed.

Rodansnap is a startup that provides English education services, corporate DX support for English education, and English conversation training services for professional soccer teams, clubs, and academies. After working at Okasan Securities and GnGn Inc., the CEO, Hirofumi Okada founded Rodansnap.

In this round, Rodansnap has raised seed capital from angel investors, including Shinji Okazaki, a leading Japanese soccer player, Ryoichi Oka, CEO of Meister, Inc. and Eita Ito, President of AdjustOne, Inc. At the same time, Mr. Okazaki was appointed as a product development advisor.

Rodansnap has been providing English training to soccer players and J-League clubs, and will start a "soccer-specific online English conversation service" product as an English education for the developmental age to help soccer players make further progress. In order to develop soccer players who can compete in the international clubs, the company will provide a service that enables them to learn English and support them in their overseas challenges, while at the same time supporting the global commercial success of domestic soccer clubs.

Shinji Okazaki said the following about this funding:

“I want to change the standards of Japanese soccer to European standards. This is because what I experienced when I went to Europe does not work with Japanese common sense. Of course, I was able to survive in part because I am Japanese, but I realized that I would have to rely on luck, with coaches and clubs that understand Japanese people. In Germany, England, Spain, Belgium, and Europe, you need to be assertive. I have recently come to think that just by being able to "communicate your thoughts" as a matter of course, you can eliminate the difficulties you experience when you go to Europe for the first time. I can be assertive in Japan, but not in Europe. I found it very frustrating that self-assertion and language by European standards are two sides of the same coin, and I could not do it in English. I wondered how much of the disadvantageous situation that Japanese players are currently facing could be eliminated if they could learn to use language as a means of self-assertion and change the situation through discussions with the coach and players to address the contradictions and problems caused by their inability to communicate. That's when I met Okada-san, and I felt that he could realize what I was thinking, and above all, I felt his passion to continue through trial and error, so I want to support him and I want to help them too.”

Rodansnap’s company profile is here:
https://protocol.ooo/en/companies/rodansnap