Europe's first structured 1v1 basketball league, Lineal, has successfully closed its €500,000 pre-seed funding round.
Lineal was conceptualised early in 2026 by two founders from “different sides of the court” – one the captain of Belgium’s national team, Manu Lecomte, and the other with a background in coaching, HR and talent acquisition, David Dawoud – who share a passion for the sport. “It has been months of chasing this non-stop,” David shares. “Early mornings, late nights, events, players, investors, partners, mistakes, fixes, life trying to beat you down and constantly pushing the next thing forward.”
This dedication is ultimately what attracted investors. Fellow professional Belgian basketball player Ine Joris joins Lineal as an angel investor, ambassador and partner through Evoras, a multidisciplinary sports and athletic performance centre in the country. “Manu’s and David’s drive and vision are putting basketball on the map in a whole new way,” she says. “We’re proud to support this journey and provide a place where the Lineal rise has a stage.”
For some investors, this deal is shaped by childhood memories and dreams. Nicolas Debray recalls battling it out on playgrounds such as Porte d'Anderlecht, Place Saint Denis, Place Saint Job, Merlo and Place Morichar. “I still remember losing the 3v3 streetball final at Place Rogier and the screaming crowd,” he reminisces.
“I traded the court for the tech and media industry and, later, to become an entrepreneur. Then I exited my company and more recently found my path as a business angel investor,” Nicolas continues, adding that the intensity of streetball never really left him. “Now, some of my greatest passions are colliding.”
As the leader of Belgium Startup Ecosystem, he knew instantly he had to back Lineal. “A thriving ecosystem is about building bridges and creating value for all stakeholders. That’s why meeting Manu was a revelation; I’m hyped to step onto this new chapter as a supporter, investor and fan.”
Human37 co-founder and managing director, Julien De Visscher, was also impressed with Manu and David after meeting them at the Belgium Startup Ecosystem Awards. “I’ve only played basketball a few times in my life, and if I’m honest, I was terrible at it. Yet I’ve always been drawn to the sport – the culture around it, the aesthetics, the rhythm, and the personalities it creates,” he admits.
“But investing is rarely just about the sport, the product, or the market. It’s about the people,” Julien comments. “I was convinced by the ambition, energy and determination Manu, David and the rest of the Lineal team bring to the table.”
Other investors, with no experience in the sport, are here simply because they believe in Manu and David, like lead investor Loïc Gérard. “I know nothing about basketball. But I do know that you don’t invest in the game – you invest in the players,” he says. “From my very first conversation with Manu Lecomte and David Dawoud, it was clear that they are rewriting the playbook for modern sports entertainment, blending high-energy live events with a digital-first, media-driven ecosystem.”
“When founders possess that level of vision, execution, and pure drive, you back them.”
Junes El-Sayyid, a lawyer by background and these days mostly working alongside founders and SMEs on legal and strategy as they scale their business, also joins as an investor.
Playing both business and basketball
And then there are the investors who bought into Lineal’s broad value proposition, including Multi Logistics Group’s senior business controller, Lukas Goyens. “I didn't invest in the hype. I dug into the numbers, asked Manu Lecomte and David Dawoud my toughest questions and saw it for myself at the first live Lineal events in Belgium,” he points out.
During these engagements, three things stood out to Lukas:
- The format – “the energy in the room is real, even a friend of mine who had never watched basketball was hooked”.
- The founders – “a rare mix of basketball credibility and operational discipline, and complete transparency when challenged”.
- The timing – “Basketball is having a European moment, and 1v1 is the most universal, most shareable version of the game. The audience already exists. The league didn't”.
Part of Syndicate One’s investment team and a strategic advisor to Lineal, Nico Vereecke echoes Lukas’s and Nicolas’s sentiments: “1v1 basketball is played in every schoolyard, park and driveway in Europe, but it has never had a real league with divisions, rankings, fight nights, rivalries and championship belts. Lineal has taken the oldest format in basketball and given it a structure that turns the playground game into a competition people follow week after week.”
But he didn't back the category. “I backed David and Manu, who have spent the past months proving the thing most founders only pitch,” Nico says.
Small Geranium Invest co-founder Lionel Barets also chose to participate because of the project's potential. “I obviously didn’t invest because I discovered a future in 1v1 basketball late in life – many will confirm that it’s better for everyone that I stay off the pitch,” he elaborates. “1v1 is universal, direct, spectacular and immediately understandable. Each duel naturally creates tension, rivalries and stories. I like projects that are a little out of the ordinary: bold enough to try to create a new category, but concrete enough to quickly confront their ambition with the field.”
“A round table does not yet make a league, but it gives a team – in which I believe – the means to demonstrate that it can build one.”
Like many of the investors, Lionel gives Loïc a nod of appreciation for putting this project in his path. “Now, it’s time for the game.”
Calling next play
“I am grateful to every investor who backed Lineal this early. Some of them jumped on board before there was a deck polished enough to make it look safe,” Manu says. “You guys saw the opportunity before the proof caught up to it.”
Since inception, Lineal has staged three events in Belgium, and a second market in Barcelona has already been secured, demonstrating demand from players, fans, partners and investors.
Manu and David have already started appointing new colleagues, too. “After the exit of the company where David and I worked together, we said we’d work together again someday,” shares the company’s new fractional CFO, Eileen Cols. “Excited for what we’re building together.”
The round itself was just the opening tip-off. With Barcelona already on the calendar and a team taking shape around Manu and David, Lineal is moving quickly from proving the concept to building the infrastructure around it — less a startup hoping to get in the game, and more one already setting the pace for what a European 1v1 league looks like.
