Fans form teams around new mothers, every act of support is verified, and every team is measured on whether loneliness goes down.
LISBON, PORTUGAL, October 23, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — FC Mother today released MASS (Mobilizing Assists at Societal Scale), the first standard for mobilizing fan teams for health. MASS connects the $2.3 trillion sports fandom economy with a longevity market projected to reach $8 trillion by 2030, starting with new mothers. Founder Morad Fareed announced it at the International Step by Step Association Conference in Lisbon, Portugal.
MASS does for fandoms what the WELL Building Standard did for buildings. It turns fandoms into health interventions. Since 2014, WELL has grown to nearly 6.5 billion square feet across 138 countries.
Fareed is a former professional athlete and co-founder of WELL. In 2015, he led the first resolution on mothers’ health in 83 years at the U.S. Conference of Mayors, signed by 1,300 mayors. That work led him to found a Harvard research lab on motherhood in 2018. In 2023, he launched FC Mother, enrolling football fandoms in pilots in Brazil, Mexico and the United States, including a FIFA World Cup 2026 health legacy partnership.
Most of what shapes health, about 80%, happens outside the doctor’s office. MASS forms fan teams for health where that 80% happens: in daily life.
Loneliness is a public health crisis: the U.S. Surgeon General warns that a lack of social connection can be as harmful as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day. Billions of people belong to fandoms, but until now there has been no standard for turning that belonging into support. MASS sets three rules:
1. Fans form teams around one person who needs support, starting with new mothers.
2. Every act of support, called an Assist, is verified by the person who receives it.
3. Every team is measured on how fast it forms, how many people it mobilizes and whether loneliness goes down.
In Rio de Janeiro, mothers’ teams of family, friends and fans delivered 7,705 Assists to 79 mothers over the course of nine months. The work was published in Early Childhood Matters by the Van Leer Foundation.
“Every new mother needs a team. Fans already know how to be one,” said Morad Fareed, founder of FC Mother. “MASS gives fandom a standard: who showed up, for whom, and whether it made a difference.”
WHAT’S NEXT
– Public comment: MASS v1.0 is open for comment through December 31, 2026.
– Founding partners: FC Mother is inviting cities and fan, sports and health organizations to become founding partners for Season 1.
– Scientific council: FC Mother is inviting researchers to join an independent MASS scientific council, which will oversee the standard and its measurement tools.
– Fans: anyone can create or join their fandom’s page today at mass-standard.com.
– New York City: certification opens in New York City in November. The first season runs January 2027 to May 2027.
– MASS Certified: in the coming weeks, FC Mother will announce the first organizations to become MASS Certified.
Organizations and researchers can join at mass-standard.com/partners/.
ABOUT MASS
MASS™ (Mobilizing Assists at Societal Scale) is the standard and certification for how fans show up for each other’s health, starting with new mothers through FC Mother. Fans become MASS certified through a 15-20 min free online course. MASS follows the model of the WELL standard, which Morad Fareed and Delos created to define healthy buildings: a clear, certifiable standard that turns a new idea into something people and organizations can adopt. Learn more at mass-standard.com
ABOUT FC MOTHER
FC Mother is a data- and science-based longevity company establishing the category of Fandom Health™, social longevity powered by the loyalty, rituals, culture and community of fans. Grounded in eight years of research at its proprietary lab with Harvard at the Vatican, 96 scientists, and 29 sports doctors, FC Mother is built around the thesis that the future of health is social and that fandom can mobilize practical support. The first focus area is maternal health, but the intent is to expand into other health areas within the $10T longevity market. Learn more at fcmother.com
David Westreich
Go West PR
+1 415-272-5909
david@gowestpr.com
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