Tim Cahill backs Nardo after US$1m pre-seed raise

Tim Cahill has taken an investment and strategic partnership role with Australian sports technology platform Nardo as the company closed a US$1m pre-seed funding round.The raise is intended to accelerate Nardo’s commercial expansion across the United States, United Kingdom and the Middle East, as the startup targets grassroots and semi-professional clubs with software-led apparel and teamwear management.Former Socceroo and Nardo investor Cahill said: “Grassroots football is where everything starts, it’s the heartbeat of the game globally.“But for too long, local clubs have been stuck with outdated systems just to get players on the pitch.”Nardo is positioning itself less as a kit supplier and more as an operating layer that connects clubs, brands and manufacturing into one workflow, aiming to reduce administrative drag and improve delivery reliability.The company was founded by Beau Catley, also a co-founder of streetwear label Geedup Co, after he encountered supply chain inefficiencies while fulfilling a local club garment request.Catley partnered with co-founders Rhys Adams and Adam Famularo to map the end-to-end apparel process with domestic football and rugby league clubs, then build software to standardise ordering, approvals and fulfilment.Nardo says its model connects community clubs directly into a global manufacturing network, removing what it describes as a fragmented manual supply chain that can involve up to 130 separate touchpoints.Its core product, Nardo Experience, is designed to consolidate the teamwear lifecycle into a single workflow that can be used by club administrators and suppliers.The platform includes tools to generate customised apparel ranges and digital lookbooks, alongside live pricing, instant quotes, internal approval steps and fabric sampling workflows.Clubs can also track production and logistics in real time, with delivery timeline visibility positioned as a lever for improving planning and reducing last-minute kit issues.The United States has been identified by the company as its primary growth market, driven by the scale of the youth sports ecosystem and demand for faster, more consistent team identity solutions.Nardo also says it has a growing pipeline of clubs preparing to onboard across the UK, Canada and the Middle East ahead of a broader international retail rollout.Financial terms beyond the US$1m pre-seed raise were not disclosed, with the company signalling that investment will be directed towards expansion execution rather than a narrow, single-market rollout.