SFL (Sports for Life), a multi‑sport youth development platform, has raised ₹21.57 crore in a Series A funding round led by Fireside Ventures and Genesia Ventures.
The round also saw participation from existing investors Roots Ventures, TDV Partners, and others.
The fresh capital raised will be used to enter additional geographies, expand best‑in‑class multi‑sport academies, strengthen coaching capabilities, add new sports, and deepen the technology platform with richer performance insights, livestreaming, communication features, and monitoring systems.
Founded in 2024 by Sourjyendu Medda and Armaan Tandon, Sports for Life operates as a youth sports training and league management company.
It offers structured training programs at academies utilizing certified coaches with extensive experience. They organizes youth sports leagues incorporating AI-driven performance tracking.
SFL’s integrated model spans academies, leagues, and a technology layer that personalises development pathways.
The company’s AI‑first performance platform captures training and match data to surface personalised learning plans, progress dashboards, and decision support for coaches. Its product roadmap includes computer‑vision powered livestreaming, automated highlights, and match analytics to create objective feedback loops for players and parents alike.
Communication tools, attendance and progress logs, and incident reporting workflows further enhance trust and accountability, while a modular, multi‑sport operating system ensures consistent quality as SFL scales across cities and venues.
SFL has also reinforced its coaching leadership by onboarding globally and nationally recognised experts, including Heimir Hallgrímsson, current manager of the Republic of Ireland men’s national team, as Football Mentor & Global Ambassador, alongside leaders such as Yadwinder Singh (ex‑Captain, Indian Men’s Basketball Team), Shyam Sundar (Indian National Coach, Chess), and Deep Rambhiya (Current India Rank 1, Mixed Doubles, Badminton).
SFL currently operates in Mumbai and Pune. It claims to have coached more than 1,500 children and run tournaments with participation from over 2,000 players. Its football league drew more than 100 teams in its second season.
In the coming year, SFL plans to enter Bengaluru and the NCR, onboard 10,000 additional children into its academies and 20,000 into its tournaments, and expand its portfolio from seven to twelve sports, with Cricket slated for launch soon.
The company will also continue to build AI‑based performance enhancement tools, personalised learning modules, and injury‑risk monitoring, while launching a youth sports broadcasting vertical to broaden access to competitions and data and to further professionalise the grassroots ecosystem.
Sourjyendu Medda, Co‑founder & CEO, SFL, 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.”
Dipanjan Basu, Co‑founder, Fireside Ventures, said, “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.”
Shun Sagara, Country Director of India, Genesia Ventures, said, “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.”
Ravinder Vashist, Co-Founder, Roots Ventures, said, “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.”
