FEATURED STORY
India’s Sports Infrastructure is the Next Big Opportunity
If there’s one international market sports investors should be paying attention to, it’s India.
While most conversations around global sports overindex on U.S. leagues expanding abroad or GCC acquiring new sports IP (which we’re guilty of!), a major sports inflection is happening quietly - and structurally - in India.
Yes, IPL is the shiny object. Franchise valuations are up 13% year-over-year to a record $18.5B, driven in large part by the rise of T20, which compressed cricket into a faster, more globally consumable format.
Outside investors noticed: RedBird Capital’s stake in the Rajasthan Royals is on pace to 2x in less than 5 years.
Yet beneath the surface, India’s sports ecosystem remains overwhelmingly state-built. Today the private sector accounts for just 21% of the ~$1.5B national investment pipeline for sports-related infrastructure.
That imbalance is exactly where the opportunity lies.
India’s macro profile sits in the upper echelon:
Government-led initiatives, accelerated athlete development, and a rapidly modernizing consumer base are creating uncapped demand for the infrastructure required to support a mass sports build-out.
Fitness chains. Luxury wellness clubs. Emerging leagues. Youth sports academies. Next-gen stadium development.
The same maturation U.S. sports experienced over the past decade is just getting underway in India.
And a recent policy shift will create more opportunities for private capital to be involved than ever before.
Public Subsidization Got the Ball Rolling
India has been grappling with a national obesity & sedentarism crisis:
In response, India launched two government-led initiatives to promote daily movement and organized sport:
Together, these initiatives laid the public foundation for India’s modern sports economy. Interest in both participating in athletics and consuming sports content is rising rapidly. The fitness market is expected to grow at a 15% CAGR from 2024 to 2030, driven by increased health awareness and gym proliferation.
As a result, sports beyond cricket are gaining momentum - with professional women’s leagues posting record viewership and engagement. Consumers are increasingly willing to allocate more spend towards fitness and sports entertainment.
Public subsidies got the ball rolling.
But long-term scale requires private capital.
Private Capital Needs to Finish the Job
In July 2025, India’s Union Cabinet approved an updated framework for the National Sports Policy (NSP), a material shift from the state-centric model outlined in the original 2001 policy.
Instead of doubling down on publicly-financed infrastructure, the new NSP explicitly opens the door to private sector involvement:
Public-private partnerships (PPPs) to finance mixed-use sports real estate in major cities
Private investment to develop sports infrastructure in both rural and urban areas
Incentives for sports entrepreneurship, spanning data analytics, apparel, and services
Support for multi-city, franchise-based sports leagues outside of cricket and football
[Khaitan & Co, one of India’s most prestigious law firms, published an awesome report detailing how PE & VC capital will get involved following the approval of NSP.]
While administrative clarity around the full scope of PE & VC participation is still evolving, the NSP’s emphasis on private capital marks a robust opportunity.
There are three reasons to be excited:
One. India already permits 100% FDI in sports infrastructure and services under the automatic route.
Two. India is preparing a bid for the 2036 Olympics and the 2030 Commonwealth Games. If Saudi Arabia’s pre-2034 World Cup build-out is any guide, hosting at this scale will require massive, multi-year capital deployment into mixed-use sports infrastructure in India.
Three. India’s $52B sports economy remains in the early innings:
Private Sector is Getting Busy
Since the NSP’s approval, the private sector has gotten busy.
Youth sports. Sports for Life (SFL), a tech-enabled youth sports development platform, raised a $2.58M Series A from Fireside Ventures and Genesia Ventures to expand multi-sport academies across Bengaluru and NCR while improving its coaching technology. Reduced regulatory opacity on private investments in grassroot sports now gives platforms like SFL a clearer path to scale nationally.
New franchise-based leagues. Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (owned by Triller Group and backed by Connor McGregor) announced this week its expansion into India with a team-based league format. Last month, the Professional Golf Tour of India and Game of Life Sports launched India’s first franchise-based golf league called “72 The League.”
Sports infrastructure. Opportunities for PPP-led development for mixed-use sports real estate are accelerating:
October 2025: Andhra Pradesh approved an SPV to develop a Sports City within its district
November 2025: India’s sports ministry proposed redeveloping the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium complex into a commercially self-sustaining sports city
November 2025: Tamil Nadu approved the “Global Sports City” project in Semmancheri
December 2025: GMR Sports, Dubai Sports City, and the Telangana government announced plans for a Satellite Sports City within Bharat Future City
This is just scratching the surface. In a market this early, the opportunity set across India’s sports infrastructure is vast.
It’ll be interesting to see which institutional players (domestic and international) get access, and who actually pulls the trigger.
We’ll have to wait and see.
If you’re actively looking at, building or investing in India’s sports economy and want to go deeper, feel free to hit reply - we’d love to chat!
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LEAGUES & TEAMS
Photo: PGA Tour expands its Player Equity Program for top 50 FedEx Cup finishers.
PGA Tour expands its Player Equity Program with additional recurring grants (Jan. 8th)
Program has distributed more than $1B in equity to ~200 players since launch
Expansion adds top 50 FedEx Cup finishers, roughly doubling recurring grant recipients; move follows player meetings and board approval after Brian Rolapp’s CEO kickoff [PGA]
NBA Europe pitches league to investors with franchises valued up to $1B, Barcelona commits to the EuroLeague (Jan. 14th)
League set to open data room, disclose financial projections, and host a private London conference with prospective investors, sponsors, and media partners
EuroLeague warns of legal action; Barcelona signs new 10-year license agreement with the EL, which includes a €10M ($11.6M) buyout clause [PEInsights] [SportsPro]
Project B, sets eyes on Tokyo as its first tour stop ahead of its 2026 launch, signs Japanese national Mai Yamamoto (Jan. 14th)
League to debut season at Toyota Arena from March 26th to April 4th, 2027
Women’s league plans 6 teams, 66 players, with reported ~$2M salaries plus equity
Backed by execs from major VCs including Lightspeed, Google Ventures, Atomico, and Centerbridge; other investors include Quiet Capital, Mangrove Capital, and Sequence Ventures [SBJ]
GS Warriors holdco Golden State Group, reportedly offers 5% stake, at an $11B+ valuation (Jan. 12th)
5% stake sale includes board seat, courtside seats, and ownership lounge access
GSG holds the Warriors, Valkyries, Santa Cruz (G League), Chase Center & Thrive City; move follows stake sales in Monumental S&E and Maple Leaf S&E [Bloomberg]
San Francisco Giants add ComPsych billionaire Richard A. Chaifetz as a minority owner (Jan. 9th)
Chaifetz joins as a partner with no board seat, acquiring a minor 1%-2% stake; brings sports-investment experience from Alpine F1 and St. Louis Shock (pickleball)
Giants’ ownership group totals 35 partners; Sixth Street acquired a 10% stake in 2025 [SFChronicle]
T20 Pakistan Super League sells two expansion franchises for a total of $12.75M at auction (Jan. 8th)
Sale expands the PSL to eight teams, from six ahead of the March 26 season launch
Sialkot franchise acquired for $6.55M by real estate firm, healthcare/aviation firm OZ Developers; Hyderabad for $6.2M by FKS Group [AP]
Australian football club Central Coast Mariners taken under interim control by the governing body APL amid forced ownership exit (Jan. 12th)
APL terminates the club’s participation agreement (CPA) after its operator forfeited it
League will run day-to-day ops while launching an expedited sale process [ALeagues]
Combat sports league Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship expands into India with World League of Fighters (Jan. 13th)
BKFC enters India via WLF; launch includes a first-ever team-based bare-knuckle league with six inaugural franchises
Bollywood star Tiger Shroff joins Conor McGregor on the board; first events slated for 2026 [Variety]
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STARTUPS & VENTURE CAPITAL
Photo: Diamond Kinetics raises $12M in growth financing led by Elysian Park Ventures.
Diamond Kinetics, a motion analysis startup targeting player swing mechanics, raises $12M in funding (Jan. 14th)
Capital supports the scaling of livestreaming and video highlights platform sidelineHD
Investment led by Elysian Park Ventures [Technical.ly]
Campus Ink, a Mark Cuban-backed NIL merchandise and athlete commerce platform, raises $3M in funding (Jan. 12th)
Funding supports pro expansion, Urban Champs launch, and MLBPA/WNBPA licensing
Investment led by RiverPark Ventures; other investors include Alumni Ventures, Lightbank, and Mark Cuban, among others [NILStore]
The 33rd Team, a football intelligence and analytics company, raises an ‘eight-figure’ Series B funding round (Jan. 13th)
Platform delivers advanced on-field metrics and pre-snap data; claims four NFL team clients this season
Investment backed by includes Liberty Media, FORTA Advisors, and Autumn Road, among others [The33rdTeam]
Betlabs, the sports betting tech company fueling ‘Dynamic Parlays’, raises a Seed funding round (Jan. 6th)
Funding supports the expansion of Dynamic Parlays; new features include enhanced payout shaping, improved betslip visuals, and an integrated odds-boost engine
Investment backed by sports betting supplier SportsContentCo [SportsContentCo]
Hapana, a white-label boutique fitness management app, raises $7.25M in Growth funding (Jan. 9th)
Funds Hapana’s next-platform launch and international markets expansion; clients include UFC Gym, Gold’s Gym, F45, and Strong Pilates, among others
Investment led by Microequities, backed by OIF Ventures; brings total funding to $24M+ [Athletech]
FITXPERT, an all-in-one SaaS platform for fitness and wellness businesses, raises ‘seven-figures’ in strategic investment (Jan. 7th)
Capital to scale platform tech stack and expand across MENA and Gulf markets; streamlines client management, program design, progress tracking, and payments
Investment backed by Foras Investment via the 0107 Invest initiative (Egypt) [TheSaaSNews]
Premier League club Burnley FC names three startups in its inaugural Innovation Hub cohort (Jan. 8th)
Camb.ai, Mantis XR, and Piing selected from 200+ applicants; spans AI speech synthesis, spatial 3D, and live fan engagement gaming applications for sports
Six-month pilot to deploy tech across club ops; program designed as a repeatable innovation model across Velocity Sports Partners’ (ALK Capital) multi-club portfolio [Burnley]
YMU, an entertainment talent agency, launches a venture fund to back creator-led businesses (Jan. 12th)
YMU Ventures Fund targets equity stakes in talent- and creator-led ventures across media, sport, culture, and commerce
Strategy formalizes shift from representation to ownership, IP creation, and long-term value building [Deadline]
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M&A AND INVESTMENTS
Photo: Bruin Capital Raises $1B for its fourth fund backed by Josh Harris’s 26North and TJC.
CVC Capital Partners launches €2.7B ($3.1B)debt raise to fund Global Sport Group (GSG) portfolio acquisitions (Jan. 13th)
Debt talks involve BlackRock’s HPS as likely candidate; Ares and Bain among the firms discussing additional equity
Goldman Sachs oversees the process with PJT and Raine advising; GSG could later pursue a minority sale or IPO [SportsPro]
Bruin Capital, a SM&E PE firm, raises $1B for its fourth fund to invest in middle-market sports (Jan. 8th)
Fund targets tech, media, commercial services in sports, and scalable services vs. direct team ownership for predictable cashflow
Investment backed by Josh Harris’s 26North and TJC (FKA The Jordan Company); portfolio includes TGI Sport, Full Swing, and Box To Box, among others [SBJ]
Chinese sportswear giant Anta Sports reportedly offers to buy a 29% stake in Puma in a potential strategic acquisition (Jan. 8th)
Artémis expects over €40/share; Puma’s market cap sits at ~$3.85B, down ~50% YoY
Anta offers to acquire stake from the Pinault family’s Artemis; sources claim Anta secured financing, but talks have stalled over valuation [Reuters]
Paramount files suit against Warner Bros. Discovery amid Netflix $83B deal challenge (Jan. 12th)
Paramount suit seeks fuller financial disclosure tied to WBD’s $83B Netflix studios transaction and ‘risk adjustment’ basis for Paramount’s offer for shareholders
Company plans to nominate a rival board slate to block the Netflix deal and push its all-cash offer [HollywoodReporter]
$750M PE fund Harbinger Sports Partners launches on wealth-asset management platform iCapital Marketplace (Jan. 14th)
Move expands institutional access to minority stakes in US pro sports franchises
Offers streamlined private-market framework for advisors and investors; fund leadership includes Mark Cuban, Steve Cannon, and Rashaun Williams [PR]
Strava confidentially files for an IPO following profitability milestone and acquisition run (Jan. 8th)
Company reportedly grew revenue 50%+ last year and has reached profitability; latest funding round valued Strava at $2.2B, including debt
Goldman Sachs tapped to lead IPO; public markets would provide capital for larger acquisitions [Reuters]
Stats Perform, a sports data and analytics leader, acquires ULL streaming platform Phenix Real Time Solutions assets for ~$7M (Jan. 12th)
Firm Acquires Phenix’s ultra-low-latency tech assets, including 21 patents
Adds WebRTC-based ULL video tech to Stats Perform’s betting, fantasy, and live data platform; Stats Perform clients include Premier League, WTA, La Liga, and Serie A [StreamingMediaBlog]
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STRATEGIC VENTURES
Photo: OpenAI launches ChatGPT Health, partners with wellness applications including Peloton and Apple Health.
OpenAI joins forces with Apple Health, Peloton for ChatGPT Health launch (Jan. 7th)
ChatGPT Health connects medical records and wellness apps for personalized health guidance
Early partners include Peloton, Weight Watchers, Apple Health, MyFitnessPal, Instacart, and AllTrails [OpenAI]
Prediction market Kalshi signs its first athlete partnership with golfer Bryson DeChambeau (Jan. 14th)
Deal includes TV ads, social content, live appearances, and new Kalshi markets tied to DeChambeau-related events and performance outcomes
Golf reportedly drove $456M in Kalshi trading volume in 2025, per the company [FOS]
Fanatics launches production venture ‘Fanatics Studios’ alongside multimedia production company OBB Media (Jan. 13th)
Joint venture will finance, produce, and distribute sports/culture content; Initial projects include a docuseries with Tom Brady and deals with WWE, MLB, and ESPN
New entity will be majority controlled by Fanatics, with a near 50-50 split [Sportico]
SailGP taps yacht racing team ‘American Magic’ for ‘multimillion dollar’ North American training hub deal through 2031 (Jan. 7th)
Grants league-wide access to American Magic’s 63K-sq-ft Pensacola, FL facility
SailGP pays fees but did not finance the $20.8M facility; follows the league’s $200M revenue milestone in 2025 [SBJ]
ScorePlay, an AI-powered sports media infrastructure platform, partners with four NBA teams to expand its league footprint (Jan. 8th)
Joins Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns, OKC Thunder, and Detroit Pistons as core media infrastructure; ScorePlay joins seven NBA franchises, nearly one-third of the NBA [Scoreplay]
Formula 1 partners with Lenovo to deploy liquid-cooled HPC for broadcast and AI ops (Jan. 6th)
Lenovo Neptune Liquid Cooling boosts computing efficiency by up to 40% at F1’s Media & Tech Centre; tech supports live broadcasts to 820M+ fans and processes ~600TB of race-weekend data [Lenovo]
FIFA names TikTok its ‘Preferred Platform’partner for the 2026 World Cup (Jan. 9th)
Move provides partial live streaming options to FIFA broadcast partners
Deal provides creators BTS access for wide-ranging events, including press conferences and trainings; some will receive archive rights to co-create content [SportsPro]
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JOB BOARD
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