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- #151 ⚽ Fan Focus Fuels Football Tech Funding
#151 ⚽ Fan Focus Fuels Football Tech Funding
Plus Sharp Alpha Ventures announces $150 million Fund III
Powering Innovation & Investment Insights in Sports. Every Week.
From fan tokens to fantasy platforms, the Football Tech ecosystem has seen a flood of financing flow toward fan-focused firms. Founders and financiers alike are finding fertile ground in fan engagement - changing the future of football fandom.
When it comes to Football, we give plenty of Fs.
⚽ FOOTBALL TECH REPORT 2025
Sector-Wise Breakdown of Football Tech Investment
As broken down in our latest Football Tech Report, funding in football technology has tilted heavily toward the fan side of the game.
Between 2020 and the first half of 2025, fan-focused solutions accounted for around 63% of all Football Tech investments, driven largely by Web3 platforms such as Sorare and OneFootball. This share rose sharply to 82% in 2024–25, primarily due to the $1.8 billion raised by DAZN.
Funding by Sub-Sector (2020-H1 2025)
For Fans: Fans & Content - 63%
Content Platforms – 24.4%
Fantasy Sports & Betting – 21.0%
Fan Experiences – 17.1%
For Executives: Management & Organisation - 25.6%
Organisations & Venues – 13.0%
Media & Sponsors – 12.6%
For Athletes: Activity & Performance - 11.9%
Hardware – 6.8%
Software – 2.8%
Before/After Activity – 2.3%
Solutions serving Executives, such as Genius Sports, Teamworks, Pixellot, and WSC Sports, kept a solid 26% share. Tools for Athletes was at 12%, led by investments in the likes of TOCA Football, Kinexon, and Veo. That lower share for Athletes is in contrast to the overall general trend in SportsTech.
Funding in football is moving from speculative hype to mature, product-led growth. The market is still betting on fans, but how much fans actually want or pay for these new experiences remains an open question.
This report is for those trying to separate market momentum from marketing noise. Whether you’re an investor, operator, or founder, it gives you a grounded view of where the money is flowing and what’s actually working.
PS: You'll see this report with early access to our all-new Intelligence Hub. We recommend taking it for a spin on your desktop/laptop. If you run into any issues or have any feedback, please reach out to us at [email protected].
THE LATEST
Top News From The World Of Sports Tech & Biz
🏀 The NBA unveiled a reimagined NBA TV and NBA App, taking full control of its media platforms after 17 years under Turner Sports and Warner Bros. Discovery.
🏙️ NBC Sports and Rockefeller Center announced “30 Rocks”, an NBA-themed fan activation featuring LED courts, team art installations, and appearances by NBA legends.
👕 PUMA, EA SPORTS FC, and Manchester City launched a special-edition kit featuring an NFC-enabled club crest that unlocks exclusive digital content in EA SPORTS FC 26.
⚽ The WSL announced a landmark technology partnership with Apple to enhance fan engagement and digital transformation across women’s football.
🎓 SPIRE Academy launched the Performance Research Institute, aimed at advancing youth athlete development through data-driven research and innovation.
⛳ Prime Video secured broadcast rights for the PGA TOUR’s “The Skins Game”, reviving the event for a Black Friday return after a 15-year hiatus.
⚽ Netflix is expected to bid for a limited package of global UEFA Champions League rights, marking its latest move into live sports.
🎙️ Netflix and Spotify forged a video podcast partnership bringing shows like The Bill Simmons Podcast, Dissect, and The Rewatchables to Netflix in 2026.
🏀 The NBA returned to China with weekend games in Macau and a new commercial partnership with Alibaba.
🏀 NBA 2K26 topped the U.S. sales charts for August 2025, outselling all competitors within two days, while Nintendo Switch 2 set new hardware records.
🏀 FIBA suspended the British Basketball Federation and banned its men’s team from international competition due to governance failures.
🏏 The Pakistan Cricket Board launched PCB Live, a new OTT platform debuting in the UK to stream domestic and international cricket content.
📺 The Big Ten Conference signed an international distribution deal with DAZN to expand its programming reach outside the U.S.
Money Talks |
💸 Sharp Alpha Ventures closed a $150 million gaming investment fund to provide non-dilutive growth capital to sports, gaming, and entertainment companies. (Check out their podcast here)
💰 Oura, the Finnish smart ring company, raised $900 million, reaching a valuation of $11 billion as it expands its wearable health ecosystem.
💸 DAZN received a $587 million capital injection from Leonard Blavatnik, as the sports streamer narrows losses and targets profitability in 2026.
💰 SharpLink raised $76.5 million through a registered direct offering priced at a 12% premium to market, supporting its Ether (ETH) treasury strategy.
💰 Splash Sports, a skill-based sports gaming platform, raised $14.5 million in Series B funding to expand its fan competition and product suite.
💰 Atlas, a neurotech and wearable startup optimizing brain health, raised $14 million to launch its brain-focused health wearable.
💰 Backswing, a Utah-based golf tech startup that simplifies tee-time bookings and group coordination, raised $1 million in seed funding from Ollin Ventures, Utah MBA Angels, and others.
🤝 Winners Inc. acquired Moneyline Sports Inc., a sports betting technology and analytics company, to expand its AI-driven betting solutions portfolio.
🤝 Sportway, a Stockholm-based live sports streaming enabler, acquired Sportall, a live video and app development platform, to strengthen its global streaming infrastructure.
💰 Airoclip, an AI-powered gaming studio, raised $2.75 million in a seed round co-led by Centre Court Capital, T-Accelerate Capital, and BITKRAFT Ventures, marking CCC’s first investment in the gaming sector.
💸 Tottenham Hotspur’s majority owners injected £100 million in new capital into the club to strengthen its financial position and long-term operations.
💡STX STARTUP SPOTLIGHT
Goal Station by A-Champs
NEW SERIES: Over the next few weeks, we’re shining the spotlight on some of the most innovative startups shaping the future of sports. Each week, we’ll feature one company and share a short conversation with a key member of their leadership team.
In partnership with Sports Tech Nation
What problem do you solve and how do you solve it?
Modern football demands more than technical skills and fitness—it requires a fast, intelligent brain. Traditional training often overlooks this. Goal Station develops Football IQ through high-repetition, high-intensity drills that sharpen perception, scanning, and decision-making. Coaches benchmark skills, track progress, and build data-driven Individual Development Plans (IDPs). Players train first touch, passing, dribbling, and shooting in match-realistic scenarios. Trusted by top clubs, our science-based system has already developed dozens of world-class players competing at the highest international level.
Key achievements you want to highlight?
Goal Station is trusted by over 50% of Bundesliga clubs and more than 40% of Danish Superliga teams. We’ve been recognised by MLS and LaLiga as one of football’s most innovative startups. Our system is backed by multiple international patents and is widely regarded by coaches and performance experts as best-in-class for tech-driven football training. These endorsements reflect our proven impact on elite player development and our leadership in next-generation training solutions.
What can we expect from you in the next 12-18 months?
We’ll launch strategic partnerships with thought leaders from the Premier League, MLS, and NWSL. As part of our U.S. expansion, we’re installing the first Goal Station Arenas on American soil—building on our network of 24 in Denmark. In partnership with Sogility, we’ll also introduce a new at-home training solution. Backed by rising global demand for tech-based football training, we’re accelerating our international growth through local partners and continuously launching new modular elements to strengthen our leadership in football performance training.
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