Inside the inaugural Global Sport Innovation ExchangeHow technology is driving international growth in sport
How technology is driving international growth in sport
Three days before the Indianapolis Colts beat the Washington Commanders 30-13 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Colts and Sports Tech HQ hosted the inaugural Global Sport Innovation Exchange in London, the first event of its kind tied to an NFL international game.
The event brought together the decision makers and innovators rewriting the playbook for how technology fuels international growth in sport. Team execs, league leaders, brands, investors and more than 40 founders from both sides of the Atlantic packed the Indianapolis Colts FanZone in Victoria for an afternoon of programming and networking.
Below are the biggest takeaways from the afternoon, from the NFL’s plans for new markets to how the most-followed mascot in sports built an audience of more than 11 million.
Beyond borders: how the NFL and its teams build new markets
On the panel
- Henry HodgsonGeneral ManagerNFL UK & Ireland
- Roger VanDerSnickChief Commercial OfficerIndianapolis Colts
- Rebecca HopkinsFounder & CEOThe STA GroupModerator
The first conversation put the league and one of its clubs on the same stage: Henry Hodgson, General Manager of the NFL in the UK and Ireland, and Roger VanDerSnick, Chief Commercial Officer of the Colts.
Sunday’s game was the 43rd the NFL has played in London since 2007. Hodgson described the UK as more than a host. It is where the league tries things first.
“The UK has been a market that we’ve tested a lot of initiatives in that have then, when they’ve been successful, been rolled out globally,” he said. The NFL Academy and the International Player Pathway both started here. So did the league’s push into schools: Hodgson said 250,000 children now play flag football in the UK, with participation doubling in each of the last four years.
What the league learns, it passes to its clubs. “The NFL does a wonderful job sharing all this,” VanDerSnick said. “As the Colts, we don’t have to go through these learnings all on our own.”
The biggest lesson so far is that the games alone are not enough.
This is not just about the games. The games are this peak moment for us. But we need to be present the 364 other days of the year.
Henry Hodgson General Manager, NFL UK & Ireland
Being present year-round, from an ocean away, is a technology problem. Hodgson said the league is using new tools to understand what brought each fan to the sport and where they are on the journey “from sofa to stadium,” so it can deliver personalized content on the right platform at the right time.
VanDerSnick said the Colts took the same approach into Germany, Austria and Switzerland, where the team has now played twice. “One of our top strategies coming over here was very much digital first,” he said. “You back that up with compelling content that really tells the story about who we are. And you do that 365 days a year.”
He was also clear about what is still unsolved, naming time zones and keeping up a conversation with fans who live thousands of miles from the stadium.
Both had the same advice for any business entering a new market. “We have to stand for who we are,” VanDerSnick said. “We can’t come over here and try to be something that we’re not.”
Why tech brands are sport’s fastest growing sponsors
On the panel
- Niall FinneganDirector, Sponsorship Strategy & InsightTwo Circles
- Scott HorowitzCEOVision Insights
- Charlie GreenwoodFounder & CEOSports_LoftModerator
The second conversation turned from finding fans to the companies that pay to reach them. Niall Finnegan, Director of Sponsorship Strategy & Insight at Two Circles, and Scott Horowitz, CEO of Vision Insights, work for two of the firms that tell teams, leagues and brands what a partnership is worth.
Finnegan said technology is now the fastest growing sponsorship category in sport, and that tech companies buy differently from the brands that came before them.
Deep integration is crucial for technology brands. They need to showcase their products. It can’t just be a marketing play.
Niall Finnegan Director, Sponsorship Strategy & Insight, Two Circles
Sport gives those companies something to point at. “Sponsorship is one of the most powerful platforms for technology brands to showcase their product,” Finnegan said. He cited IBM’s partnerships with Wimbledon, now more than three decades old, and the Masters, where the technology is part of how fans follow the event. “When you get that marriage right, it can be perfect.”
The NFL and Microsoft have run on that model for more than a decade, with the company’s tablets in the hands of coaches and players on every sideline.
Moderator Charlie Greenwood, Founder and CEO of Sports_Loft, pushed on how clubs choose a technology partner, asking when they need “the best-in-class tech supplier” and when they need “the tech supplier that will actually pay us a check.” Finnegan said the partnerships that last are the ones where the product fits what the club needs, so that its technology team and its commercial team want the same partner.
Technology is also changing what there is to sell. Horowitz described virtual advertising that can show different sponsors to different viewers of the same game, based on where they are watching.
For the founders in the room, Horowitz had two pieces of advice. Build for sport specifically: “Just adding sports to the end of your company name doesn’t make you an actual sports practitioner.” And don’t assume one customer makes a market: “What works for one won’t work for everybody.”
Two Circles is a sports and entertainment agency, founded in 2011, that uses fan data to grow audiences and revenue for rights holders including Wimbledon, the Premier League and UEFA. Vision Insights is a research and insights firm, founded in 2022, that measures sponsorship and fan behavior for teams, leagues and brands.
How the Colts built the most-followed mascot in sports
On the panel
- Stephanie PembertonSVP of MarketingIndianapolis ColtsModerator
- Trey MockCreative Director, Mascot ProgramIndianapolis Colts
- Hayden BarnackDirector of MarketingIndianapolis Colts
- Grace WorcesterMascot Social Media CoordinatorIndianapolis Colts
Why would an event about technology and international growth end with a mascot? Because Blue, the Indianapolis Colts’ mascot since 2006, drew more views last year than any team account in the NFL, and a large share of his audience is outside the United States.
Stephanie Pemberton, the Colts’ SVP of Marketing, led the session with the team behind Blue: Trey Mock, Creative Director of the mascot program, Hayden Barnack, Director of Marketing, and Grace Worcester, Mascot Social Media Coordinator.
Blue by the numbers
- 1.9Bviews last year, more than any NFL team account
- 11M+followers, up 1.5 million in under a year
- 5xNFL Mascot of the Year
- ~140days in international markets last year
Pemberton said the Colts built Blue to be the part of the brand that is always there. Players change from year to year and have limited time to give. A mascot doesn’t.
We saw an opportunity to create a 365 brand that could be engaging with fans every day of the year.
Stephanie Pemberton SVP of Marketing, Indianapolis Colts
The team now treats Blue as a strategic priority for growing its audience, at home and around the world.
Social media is how that reached beyond Indiana. Worcester, who runs Blue’s accounts, said the aim online is a character who isn’t tied to one city. His biggest audiences outside the US are in Brazil, India, Germany, Australia and Switzerland, and plenty of them root for another team. “Our favorite comments on Blue’s videos are, ‘Well, I’m a Steelers fan, but Blue’s my favorite mascot,'” she said.
There are only so many appearances one mascot can make, so the Colts found a way to scale him. Barnack said the team created formal brand guidelines for Blue, capturing his personality and history so partners and licensees can use the character on their own. It has turned Blue into a business, with his own shop inside Lucas Oil Stadium. “Blue has become one of the most recognizable faces of the Colts brand internationally,” Barnack said.
The newest line launched in the Colts FanZone on the day of the Global Sport Innovation Exchange: a limited-edition collection with German lifestyle brand Lobster & Lemonade, the brand’s first official partnership with an NFL club. It is available at the NFL Shops in London and online, and will be in Munich when the NFL returns in November.
Takeaways from the global sports tech market
On the panel
- Rohn MalhotraCo-Founder & CEOSportsTechX
- Jeff HintzExecutive DirectorSports Tech HQ
Rohn Malhotra has watched sports tech grow from a buzzword into an industry. The Co-Founder and CEO of SportsTechX shared where it stands today, based on investment data his firm has tracked since 2018.
Sports tech by the numbers
- $80Btotal deal flow in sports tech since 2021
- 65%of 2025 investment went to products built for fans, up from 55% across five years
- 87%of sports tech acquisitions last year were made by other sports tech companies, up from 57%
- US, UKthe largest and second-largest markets for sports tech investment
This is no longer a niche. Tech is infrastructure for sports.
Rohn Malhotra Co-Founder and CEO, SportsTechX
He also pointed to where the industry gathers: about 140 hubs, accelerators and networks around the world, alongside roughly 700 investors. “Connecting with the sports tech ecosystem is much easier than you’d imagine,” he said. “There are plenty of hubs all over the world.”
Sports Tech HQ is one of them. The nonprofit has a single job, Executive Director Jeff Hintz told the room: powering Indiana’s rise as a sports tech hub. The state has one of the densest concentrations of teams, governing bodies, events and universities in sport, and sports tech is one of five pillars in its 2050 Vision, a 25-year strategy for the industry. More than 50 companies have joined the Sports Tech HQ Collective to build there. “Most organizations might plan for the next season or the next year,” Hintz said. “In Indiana, we’re planning for the next generation.”
Sports Tech HQ Collective companies in the room
Great moments in sports don’t happen by accident. They happen when people pull together in the same direction.
Jeff Hintz Executive Director, Sports Tech HQ
From the co-host
About Sports Tech HQ
Sports Tech HQ is a nonprofit organization fueling Indiana’s transformation into a global hub for sports technology. Home to a world-class sports infrastructure, Indiana provides the foundation for entrepreneurs to advance innovations that elevate the game for fans, athletes, and teams. Sports Tech HQ attracts companies from around the world to join its collective, positioning them at the forefront of an industry projected to reach $100 billion by 2030. Discover how these companies are driving the future of sports through Indiana’s robust ecosystem of partners at sthq.org.
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