Japan footballer, Will Smith launch Dreamers Fund

TOKYO: Japanese footballer Keisuke Honda is swapping football for finance, after launching a venture capital fund with Hollywood star Will Smith to invest in startups addressing social problems, said the striker’s agent yesterday.

The Dreamers Fund, set up in April in Los Angeles, aimed to raise about US$100 million (RM406 million) from investors, with Japanese brokerage giant Nomura Holdings serving as “the anchor investor”, said Honda’s management firm KSK Group in a statement.

“I hope to change the lives of people in the US, Japan and the world for the better through the Dreamers Fund,” he said.

The former AC Milan striker announced his retirement from international football earlier this month on the heels of Japan’s heartbreaking World Cup exit in a last-gasp defeat to Belgium.

“I’ll be taking on a difficult new challenge,” said Honda, 32, on his official Twitter account yesterday, without adding details.

The management firm statement said Honda had been “shocked” while playing club football in the Netherlands a decade ago, to learn that some of his fellow players were sending more than half their salaries home to support families in Africa and South America.

“I began to think about a way for me to contribute to people in disadvantaged environments,” said Honda.

The fund would bring together investors with experience funding rising United States ventures such as Uber and SpaceX, according to the statement.

“By investing in the Dreamers Fund, Nomura will gain access to information on cutting-edge businesses in the US and expand the scope of business opportunities,” said Nomura Holdings spokesman.