#83 🚀 Innovation Leaders in Sports Survey

News, features & insights from the world of Sports Tech. Every Week.

Our 2nd report of the summer is out now, part II of the double header we’d mentioned last week. Is a survey of leaders from some top, top sports orgs so be sure to take a look.

As always, Happy Friday 😎 

Innovation Challenges Faced by Sports Organisations ft. Teamworks

⚡ A Survey of Innovation leaders at Sports Organisations in partnership with Teamworks ⚡

Through this report we’ve reached out to various Innovation leaders to get their perspective on the biggest challenges they face in striding towards the future of sport. Hear from leaders at top sports entities such as the IOC, DFL, MLS, Tennis Australia, Euroleague Basketball & many more.

Here are some snippets of the survey:

✅ 3.8 / 5 was the average rating of the level of maturity at the organisation around innovation.

✅ 67% rated “An Integrated solution” as the most beneficial for athletes and staff.

✅ “Player Development” rated as the #1 area of importance for Innovation in the near future.

⚽ Case study: How Chelsea FC leverage Teamworks to enhance player experience

+ additional topics like “Sources of new capital: Where is all the money in sports coming from” and “Key trends driving innovation: For Athletes, for Fans & for Executives working in the sports industry”

Global Sports Tech Ecosystem Report 2024 OUT NOW!

Haven’t downloaded The Global SportsTech Ecosystem Report 2024 yet? Plenty of good stuff in there-

✅ Overview of the investment environment: Where is the money going?

✅ Top Trends in 2023: B2B solutions gaining importance; Fitness tech continues to attract investors; BigTech (Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta & others) investing heavily in sports, in various ways

✅ Overview of Global SportsTech Ecosystem: Who is doing what & where?

Top News from the World of Sports Tech

⚽ Cristiano Ronaldo launched a free-to-play football game, UFL, developed and published by Strikerz Inc, to rival EA FC.  

📢 Future of Sport Lab announced 9 Canadian sport tech startups accepted into its latest incubator cohort: Black in Sport Business Inc, Bold Helmets, Eigen Fitness, Pando Partner, Scorched Ice, SharpStakes, SportsShare Technologies Inc., Strategy F Technologies and Wuxly. 

🚀 After last week’s news from Queensland, this week ASTN launched its ‘Sportstech Gold Coast Growth Plan’ in partnership with the City of Gold Coast as it aims to strengthen the region’s rapidly growing sportstech ecosystem.

🎟️ OneFootball, launched a new online soccer marketplace, in partnership with Stadion, where fans will receive AI-powered recommendations and be able to buy merchandise within the existing OneFootball app.

⛳ The USGA partnered with Wicket to trial facial recognition technology during the U.S. Open tournaments.

🏆 Amazon Web Services (AWS) debuted the first-ever generative AI-inspired trophy at the F1 AWS Grand Prix in Montreal, Canada.

✅ Sports Interactive, the studio behind the Football Manager series, struck a deal with the Premier League to feature EPL in Football Manager games over the next four years.

Money Talks:

💰 Whoosh, Inc., club operations software solution, closed a $10.3 million Series A funding round, led by AlleyCorp.

💰 Ticketing company, Eventmaster, received an investment of €4 million ($4.3 m) from growth capital investor BGF.

💰 Malaysia-based app for golfers, Deemples, raised $ 2 million from Singapore-based venture capital firm V Ventures. 

💸 Rice University will award an $800,000 grant over three years to DivInc  Sports Tech Accelerator to support diverse founders building innovative startups shaping the technology of tomorrow. 

💰 Brazilian sports gear marketplace, Semexe, raised $760K from Hiker Ventures to expand Loopify, its B2B circular economy solution. 

💰 Adventuro, a marketplace platform for adventure sports, closed its latest funding round with the support of angel investment network Lifted Ventures, for an undisclosed amount. 

💰 USTA's new strategic investment initiative, USTA Ventures, invested an undisclosed amount in PlayReplay, a tennis technology company featuring an electronic line-calling (ELC) system. 

💰 3LS Ventures Inc., which invests in early-stage behavioral health products, made an undisclosed strategic investment in The Zone, A digital health solution designed to support the mental well-being of athletes.

🤝 NODWIN Gaming International, acquired Ninja Global for $3.57 million (approximately INR 29.8 crore) in a strategic cash and stock deal.

🤝 German company Arntech GmbH (SPORTident) announced the acquisition of the Norwegian company EMIT AS, for an undisclosed amount. 

🤝 Absolute Sports, parent company of Sportskeeda, is set to acquire all assets of SoapCentral.com, a source of entertainment content in the US, for about $1.4 million.

🤝 Echelon, a global fitness and sports leader, acquired ThriveX – a company focused on advanced recovery products, for an undisclosed amount. 

🤝 Bensussen Deutsch & Associates, a merchandise agency for major sports leagues, acquired UK-based sports & events provider The Great Branding Company for an undisclosed amount. 

🤝 Planet Fitness Master Issuer LLC, an indirect subsidiary of Planet Fitness, has successfully completed a refinancing transaction, issuing $800 million in aggregate amount of senior secured notes.

Latest from our channels

🎙 #207 Centre Court Capital: $42 million Sports Tech Fund

India's top VC fund specializing in sports tech and gaming.

Both public and private investment in Sports has more than quadrupled since 2020. Centre Court Capital aims to be at the forefront of India’s sports and gaming revolution. It is a sector-focused fund investing in Sports Technology, Fitness & Wellness, and Gaming. They’re also soon launching an offshore feeder fund in GIFT City, to raise capital from international investors. Get in touch if interested. 

🔙 STX Article: All New IPL Technology- Smart Replay System to Multicam

✅ STX Monthly: Last month’s sports tech dealflow, in case you missed it.

💪🏽 SportsTech AllStars Recap: Innovation in Sports Organisations