R-GOL, a leading multi-brand retailer of football-related merchandise in CEE, backed by Innova Capital, has completed the acquisition of a majority stake in sportbm, a Polish developer of software for club and sports academy management. The acquisition provides R-GOL with new opportunities to expand in the fast-growing sports technology market and diversify its business model with recurring subscription revenue.
Sportsbm has over 8 years of experience in the Polish market, providing intuitive tools for managing sports academies and clubs across 30 sports. The company specializes in building IT systems for sports federations and has developed its own SaaS platform for associations training children and youth. As a reliable technology partner for sports organizations, Sportsbm has its own development team and is expanding its products in-house to provide the platform users with the highest quality of service and continuous support. The company is constantly striving to improve the functionality available in the offered system and already offers its customers the tools to manage and automate most processes, such as managing collected data, organizing activities, multi-channel communication, billing and planning training processes.
R-GOL is SportsThe company will roll out the bm platform in all markets, including Western Europe, where it recently acquired Unisport, a leading online retailer of soccer equipment. The two companies aim to build an innovation hub to support digital product development in the soccer ecosystem and enhance the digitalization of sports clubs and academies in the region. The collaboration will combine R-GOL's soccer equipment with Unisport, a leading online retailer of soccer equipment, to comprehensively address the needs of players. SportsBM's platform has features such as online business cards, document circulation and insurance services. In the future, the company plans to cooperate with external partners to expand its service portfolio to include medical care, mental training, nutrition and supplements. R-GOL is also considering further integration of European club software providers to strengthen its position in the sports tech market.
“we Sports“We introduced the bm platform as a response to the relatively low digitalisation of the entire sports world. R-GOL has been our partner for many years and we have always appreciated the boldness of their business development. Joining forces to create a common ecosystem for athletes and sports clubs is not only the next step for our growth, but also represents a new direction and an opportunity for expansion, the start of something totally unique on the European market. We are excited to be part of the R-GOL team and to develop such a unique business model together.” Wojciech Murawski, co-founder of sportbm and board member of Autopay, said:
Łukasz Cyran, Managing Director at Innova Capital, added: “Over the past 12 months, we have seen that R-GOL is a team that combines passion for football, great ambition and business professionalism, a fact that is best evidenced by our second acquisition this year. Sportsbm will enable the Group to enter the attractive field of SaaS software for sports clubs and academies and open up additional channels to reach key stakeholders in the football ecosystem: players, parents and coaches. We look forward to seeing the results of this promising collaboration.”
With more than 20 years of experience in the market, R-GOL currently operates in 14 countries in Central and Eastern Europe, making it a leading professional distributor of football equipment. In June, the company acquired Unisport, a social media-enabled online retailer of football equipment in Western Europe, significantly expanding its reach and growth opportunities. Through strategic acquisitions and innovative digital strategies, R-GOL aims to build a comprehensive ecosystem for football enthusiasts, players and clubs, strengthen its position in the European market and become the world's leading professional football company.
