SPORTS FOR LIFE (SFL), one of India’s fastest-growing multi-sport youth development platforms, has raised Rs 21.57 crore in a Series A round led by Fireside Ventures and Genesia Ventures, with additional participation from existing investors Roots Ventures, TDV Partners and others.
The Series A round follows a strong year of growth during which SFL tripled its revenue and expanded its footprint to Pune, its second market after Mumbai. Season 2 of the SFL football league saw participation from more than 100 teams in Mumbai, with the trophy unveiled by Bhaichung Bhutia. Currently, over 1,500 children attend SFL coaching classes regularly, and more than 2,000 take part in its tournaments demonstrating strong community engagement and a rapidly growing national presence, according to a media release.
Founded by Sourjyendu Medda and Armaan Tandon, SFL’s integrated model brings together academies, leagues and a technology layer that tailors development pathways for each child. Its AI-first performance platform captures training and match data to generate personalised learning plans, progress dashboards and decision-support tools for coaches. The product roadmap includes computer-vision-enabled livestreaming, automated highlights and match analytics, offering objective feedback loops for players and parents. Additional features such as communication tools, attendance and progress logs, and incident-reporting systems further strengthen trust and accountability. A modular, multi-sport operating system ensures consistency and quality across all programs, the media release said.
The newly secured capital will support SFL’s expansion into more geographies, the growth of its best-in-class multi-sport academies, enhanced coaching capabilities, the addition of new sports and the continued development of its technology platform with deeper insights, improved live streaming, enhanced communication features and advanced monitoring systems.
Medda said, “With our existing investors, Fireside and Genesia by our side, we’re building a youth sports ecosystem that families can trust for the next decade—not just the next season. This investment helps us bring structured, high‑quality sports closer to every neighborhood and to every child who deserves a chance to play, learn, and grow—while keeping quality, consistency, and safety at the core.”
Fireside Ventures co-founder, Dipanjan Basu, commented, “India has a clear and pressing need for structured, high‑quality grassroots sports programs, and SFL is addressing this with remarkable clarity and execution. Strong parent demand, high retention, and consistent neighborhood‑level trust, combined with coaching excellence, technology, community engagement, and robust safeguarding- position SFL to become India’s leading youth sports platform.”
Genesia Ventures country director of India, Shun Sagara, shared, “SFL exemplifies how a consumer‑focused, tech‑enabled sports development platform will shape the future of youth development in India. The model scales seamlessly while maintaining the quality and safety parents value most. With strong product‑market fit, SFL is building meaningful pathways for children to grow, play, and thrive.”
Roots Ventures co-founder, Ravinder Vashist, added, “We are doubling down on SFL because the strength of the business model and the clarity of execution are evident. The scalability, operational discipline, and depth of consumer conviction we’ve seen are rare at this stage, and it is clear that SFL is solving a real market need. Our continued investment reflects our belief that SFL is on course to become the next category-defining company in India’s youth sports and development space.”
