#4 🤝 Brazil’s SportsTech Connector That’s Doing the Quiet Work Which Matters

Plus the Global Sports Tech Ecosystem Report 2025 is out

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SportsTechX
May 21, 2025

Interviews, articles, events, and everything else happening at SportsTechX.

This week we head to Brazil - one of the least talked-about sports tech markets.

We caught up with Arena Hub Partner, Ricardo Mazzucca to unpack how they’re building connections, backing startups, and pushing innovation forward, even without the usual fanfare. Enjoy the read.

🎙️Brazil’s Sports Tech Connector: Arena Hub

While much of the global sports tech spotlight shines on North America and Europe, Brazil is steadily building its own ecosystem - through connection, education, and some serious patience. At the center of that is Arena Hub, a São Paulo-born initiative now five years in the making.

🔍 Highlights from the Episode

Ricardo isn’t a new name in Brazilian sports. He spent 20 years at TV Globo, 15 of those as Sports Marketing Director, overseeing commercial properties like the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics.

📐 What Arena Hub Actually Does

Today, Arena Hub helps startups and sports entities connect, experiment, and grow. Its mission? Accelerate the future of sport through:

  • Innovation consulting for clubs, federations, and venues

  • Startup acceleration and investment programs

  • Content and events (like Brazil’s Rio Innovation Week)

  • Commercializing media and tech properties

And it’s not just a local play. Arena Hub supports 200+ startups (10% international), from early ideas to expansion-ready ventures.

🌎 From São Paulo to Munich - and Back

Recently, Arena Hub led a delegation of Brazilian startups to Munich through a partnership with Colosseum and SportsTech Nation. The cohort included:

  • A wellness platform for athlete care

  • A startup building athlete-investor connections

  • A fan engagement ticketing platform

  • A sports nutrition venture

“We work with startups at every stage,” Ricardo explains. “And not just sports tech. If your product can add value to sport - whether it’s FinTech, MedTech, or EdTech - we want to help you enter the space.”

🧠 A Framework That Makes It All Click

Arena Hub uses a five-pillar framework to map how innovation impacts:

  1. The sport itself

  2. The athlete

  3. The fan

  4. The management

  5. The wider social/educational role of sport

“This gives us a way to evaluate startups not just by product, but by relevance to the whole ecosystem.”

🏟️ On the Ground in Brazil: A Work in Progress

Brazil’s sports industry still has its hurdles. Many federations lack innovation teams, budgets are limited, and change is slow.

“If you go to a sports entity with a great product, but they see it as a cost? You won’t get far,” Ricardo admits. “You have to show short-term return first. Then they’ll listen.”

But it’s evolving. More clubs are adopting tech. More confederations are open to pilot programs. And partnerships are forming - like Arena Hub’s new role as official innovation agent for the Brazilian Olympic Committee through LA 2028.

👀 What’s Next?

  • Expanding its Podium Labs accelerator

  • Deepening work with Brazilian federations on innovation readiness

  • Creating global challenges linked to the Olympic cycle

  • Continuing to support startups breaking into Brazil - and helping Brazilian startups grow globally

“There’s still so much to build, but if you come with the right solution and the right mindset, Brazil can be a big opportunity.”

Ricardo Mazzucca

🕒 10 DAYS TO GO: Sports Tech Bootcamp 2.0

Only 20 spots in this cohort!

🔐 If you're interested to learn more about the fast changing sports innovation landscape and get an insider key into this industry, keep reading.

⏩ Starting this May, over 6 weeks, Team SportsTechX will help you get up to speed with the latest in sports innovation and technology.

✅ You will get:

  • 20+ hours of content

  • Live sessions with top industry experts who are leading global VC Firms, Sports Teams, Innovation Initiatives, Startups, Sports Orgs and more.

  • 1-on-1 career advice

  • Access to our exclusive Sports Tech Network

  • Lifelong networking access with participants from all Bootcamp cohorts

  • SportsTechDB (Database) access

  • Help with internship placements, if required

What content will we cover? Comprehensive overview of the Global Sports Tech landscape, key developments, investments, current and future trends in Sports Innovation, real world use cases, studies and live examples

How much does it cost? Priced at € 849.

Fill in the application form below and tell us why you're interested in this program.

Application Deadline: 1 May, 2025

📥 Download: Global Sports Tech Ecosystem Report 2025

Launched last week, our latest report delivers an in-depth look into the global fast-changing sports tech and innovation landscape.

Key findings from the report:

  • 💰$58B in global Sports Tech dealflow since 2020

  • 🦄 12 new unicorns, 38 in Total

  • 🚀 $3B record-setting round for Infinite Reality in Jan 2025

  • 🤝 20+ new investors and initiatives launched in the last 12 months

  • 📊 $7.6 billion Invested across latest Trends: New Leagues, Competitive Socialisation & Rise of APAC

✅ Full Report Includes:

  • SportsTech Innovators list: Interviews with 15 leaders from funds, sports organisations and innovation programs

  • Startups to Watch in 2025

  • Breakdown of 3 hot trends in Sports Innovation & Investment

  • SportsTech Dealflow by year

  • Investment analysis across region, year, country, city & sector

If you want to learn more about this Sports Innovation ecosystem then be sure to…

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