Sports and Technology: A Growing Intersection
Riga TechWeek 2025 featured multiple events at the intersection of sports and technology—a signal that this sector is gaining serious attention in Latvia’s ecosystem.
At Āgenskalna tirgus, professional athletes and sports entrepreneurs gathered for a panel discussion on investing. Meanwhile, the new organization Sporttech Latvia officially launched during the week, creating a dedicated community for those working at the sports-tech crossroads.
Athletes Talk Investing
The panel at Āgenskalna tirgus brought together people who’ve navigated both competitive sports and business:
- Žanis Peiners — Latvian national basketball team analyst and investor
- Andis Blinds — Former professional floorball goalkeeper, founder of Blindsave and Gamepatch
- Anrijs Brencāns — Entrepreneur, founder of Fan Apps and Use Award
- Arnis Ozols — Former Euroleague basketball referee and entrepreneur
The discussion focused on investment experiences—both within sports and beyond—drawing on the panelists’ unique perspectives as people who’ve competed at high levels and then built businesses.
“A great exchange of investment experience stories with like-minded people from the professional sports world.”
— Andis Blinds
From Floorball Pads to Global Sports Brand
Andis Blinds’ journey illustrates the athlete-to-entrepreneur path. During his playing career—which included representing Latvia in six World Championships and a season in Sweden’s top league—he grew frustrated with inadequate goalkeeper knee pads.
Unable to find protection that offered both safety and comfort, he started developing his own. In 2012, he founded Blindsave, now the world’s only brand focused exclusively on floorball goalkeeper equipment.
Today, Blindsave exports to 30 countries—essentially everywhere floorball is played at a serious level, including Sweden, Finland, Singapore, Australia, and the United States. The Swedish national team’s goalkeeper uses Blindsave equipment.
He later founded Gamepatch, expanding into broader sports protective equipment.
Sporttech Latvia Launches
Also during Riga TechWeek, a new organization officially launched: Sporttech Latvia, founded to connect Latvia’s sports and technology communities.
“During Riga TechWeek, we celebrated the founding of the Sporttech Latvia organization.”
— Anrijs Brencāns, founder of Fan Apps and Sporttech Latvia
The organization aims to:
- Connect athletes interested in technology and entrepreneurship
- Support startups building sports-related products
- Create a community for knowledge sharing between sports and tech professionals
Why Sporttech in Latvia?
The intersection of sports and technology is growing rapidly worldwide. From performance analytics and wearable sensors to fan engagement platforms and sports betting technology, the sector offers opportunities that require both sports domain expertise and technical capability.
Latvia punches above its weight in several sports—ranking among the top six nations in both men’s and women’s floorball, and regularly producing professional athletes in basketball, ice hockey, and winter sports. This creates a foundation for sporttech ventures built by people who understand competitive athletics from the inside.
The combination of the athletes-and-investing panel and the Sporttech Latvia launch during TechWeek suggests this is more than a niche interest—it’s an emerging vertical in Latvia’s startup ecosystem.