Rising Ballers founders Brendon Shabani (left), Eni Shabani (centre), and Jamie Pollitt (right). Football publisher Rising Ballers has grown to a 30-plus-strong team with its focus on putting out creator-led marketing campaigns on social media. It is part of a trend which has seen mainstream publishers such as Reach, Future, DMG Media and News UK all invest heavily in social-first content teams which blur the line between journalism and marketing. [Read more: Future plc buys beauty and fashion brand Sheerluxe for £40m] The company, founded in 2017, publishes football content on Instagram, Tiktok and Youtube. Since its founding, Rising Ballers’ portfolio has expanded to include brands: She’s A Baller, a platform for women’s football, Rising Ballers USA and an investment in fashion-focussed football platform Footballer Fits. Although all brands exist as websites, Rising Ballers focuses on content for social media distribution, prioritising the growth of its young audience over web traffic and page views. Across Rising Ballers’ portfolio, the company claims to have grown its audience by 15.38% this year and had a 200% increase …