Sportstechx - Startups & The Sports Tech Ecosystem

In this episode of the SportsTech All-Stars Podcast, we present Eddie Lewis, Founder and President of Toca Football.The conversation explores how a self-taught training method, built around a tennis ball machine, became the foundation of one of the most well-funded sports tech companies in the world, and how Toca Football is now expanding beyond youth training into competitive socialisation with Toca Social.TakeawaysA self-developed training concept can become a $200M+ business if the underlying insight is strong enoughLegacy team training formats are inefficient at addressing individual technical gaps in soccer playersToca Football's tech evolved from a basic ball machine to an adaptive, AI-driven training systemCompetitive socialisation is a macro trend reshaping how fans engage with sport beyond playing or watchingPerformance tech is moving downstream — from elite clubs to everyday players and youth programsYouth sports investment is accelerating and remains a high-conviction area for operators and investo