Fabio Murolo is an entrepreneur with a background in international business and over 15 years of experience in cybersecurity and startup growth. He launched his first venture straight out of university, achieving a seven-figure exit within 18 months — a crash course in timing and adaptability. He later worked as an independent consultant in the media sector, refining his commercial instincts and storytelling skills. Since then, Fabio has helped guide emerging startups across the DACH region through product development, go-to-market strategy, and strategic partnerships. Now as CEO of Oneplayr, he brings a 360-degree view of startup building, grounded in hands-on experience, operational insight, and founder empathy. Outside of work, he’s deeply passionate about football, shaped by years as a player, coach, and insider in Germany’s elite youth leagues.
What inspired your shift from poker and cybersecurity into decentralised football with OnePlayr?
Football has been my first love since childhood. As the years went on, I kept asking myself: how can a sport with nearly four billion fans still lack a digital grassroots space where fans, players, clubs, and scouts can interact on equal footing?
That gap became impossible to ignore. Once I met a team that shared the vision, OnePlayr became the natural next step.
My past startup experience taught me the power of aligning incentives and the importance of trust. We’ve embedded those lessons into OnePlayr through a native token, DAO governance, and dynamic NFTs, which we call PlayrCards.
The result is a closed-loop ecosystem where every participant shares in the value they help create.
How did your time as a player and coach influence the platform’s design?
First-hand experience at every level, playing, coaching, even being the dad on the sidelines, made one thing clear: grassroots clubs run on passion but lack the tools and visibility of the professional tier.
Volunteers are already stretched thin. There’s little room for data-driven scouting, digital engagement, or fan involvement.
That’s why OnePlayr was built for the 99.99% of footballers outside the spotlight. We’re giving them access to tools typically reserved for the elite: global visibility, DAO governance, and meaningful community participation.
If we empower the base of the pyramid, the entire structure becomes stronger.
What’s the bigger mission: Levelling the pitch, transforming fandom, or creating a new economy?
All three are tightly connected. Our mission is to unite the global grassroots game, including amateurs, hobby clubs, and weekend players, on a level digital playing field.
First, we democratise opportunity. A striker in rural Nigeria deserves the same exposure as one in a European academy. Through PlayrCards, skill-based challenges, and daily SuperLikes, anyone can earn attention and support.
Second, we want to redefine fan engagement. On OnePlayr, fans aren’t just spectators, they’re talent scouts, amplifiers, and stakeholders. When a player rises, their backers rise too.
And lastly, we’re creating a circular football economy. Users earn tokens by logging training, voting in governance, or mentoring others. Those tokens can be spent on real-world rewards like boots, tickets, or coaching courses, making their effort and passion valuable.
What should a first-time user expect when they download the app?
The app works like “TikTok for football”: users upload videos, join challenges, give SuperLikes, and scroll through a curated feed. SuperLikes are especially powerful as you only get one per day, and the top-ranked clips are shared with scouts and clubs.
That’s what sets OnePlayr apart. We’ve built a direct pipeline between grassroots play and professional opportunity, all within one platform. And we’re just getting started. Upcoming features include tradable PlayrCard NFTs, DAO governance, and a marketplace where users can exchange tokens for real-world gear and experiences.
You’ve been active on platforms like Galxe and Zealy. How central is community-driven growth to your strategy?
It’s not just central, it’s the entire strategy. Whether it’s jersey giveaways, onchain quests, or design votes, we treat every engagement as a way for fans to co-create the platform.
Their actions influence which players get seen, which features we launch, and how the ecosystem evolves. The community is embedded in every product loop, and we reward that effort meaningfully.
Do you have any standout fan stories that embody that spirit?
Our partnership with the Globe Soccer Awards is a great example. We didn’t just sponsor the event, we built in-app quests tied to it. The top 20 fans who engaged the most flew out to the ceremony, met football legends, and experienced it all from the VIP section.
One user’s reaction video said it all: disbelief turning into tears of joy. That’s why we fuse digital and physical, so that a single tap can turn into a life-changing football moment.
How does the $PLAYR token work, and how do you prevent speculation?
$PLAYR is the fuel for the platform, not a speculative asset. Users earn it through engagement in the form of uploading clips, participating in challenges, and helping the community grow. They can then spend it on PlayrCards, premium features, or items in our marketplace.
We also offer $FAN, which is a non-tradable token earned by staking $PLAYR, giving holders voting power, discounts, and fee-sharing. This encourages users to stay involved rather than chase quick flips.
To limit speculation, $PLAYR will only be tradable once the ecosystem is mature. Supply is carefully managed with long-term vesting for the team and presale participants.
What role will DAO governance play as OnePlayr matures?
The OnePlayr DAO gives fans a real say in how the platform will evolve over time. Token-weighted votes will determine product features, challenge formats, ecosystem partnerships, and community fund allocations.
For example, future votes might decide whether 10% of platform fees go toward youth football or specific social initiatives.
Rather than being passive users, our community becomes active stakeholders, with their input recorded and enforced onchain.
Where do you want OnePlayr to be in five years, and how do you think it will shape football’s future?
We want to change how football is discovered, played, and monetised. OnePlayr isn’t just a platform — it’s a movement. We’re building a digital football nation where anyone, anywhere, can be seen, supported, and rewarded.
That means creating a borderless web3 stadium where fans are true stakeholders and every player, regardless of location or background, has a shot at visibility.
We’re working to make scouting transparent and merit-based, ensuring that top-performing clips go directly to club decision-makers without gatekeepers. At the same time, we’re developing an economy of engagement in which fans can actively invest in players and share in the value they help create.
Community governance sits at the heart of this vision, with DAO voting giving users a direct say in how the platform evolves. And we’re committed to making a broader impact too, by directing a portion of platform fees toward education and grassroots football development, chosen by the community itself.
And we’re already starting to see this take shape. With each new partnership and product release, we’re moving closer to a football ecosystem that’s inclusive, transparent, and driven by the people who love the game.