🔊 Insights On The $100M Investment Into Mexican American Football

Global Sports Capital Partners (GSCP) is betting big on Mexican American football.

This week, the newly launched fund, founded by Michael MacDougall, former senior partner at private equity giant TPG, announced a $100 million investment into Liga de Fútbol Americano (LFA), Mexico’s top professional American football league.

Founded in 2016, the LFA has eight franchises and aims to expand as the popularity of American-style football continues to rise across Mexico.

GSCP’s investors include several Mexican business leaders, family offices, and Tony Vinciquerra, the former CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment and Fox Networks Group.

The fund will provide growth capital for at least seven years, supporting expansion efforts not only in men’s American football but also in women’s flag football, one of the fastest-growing sports categories globally.

GSCP will also take over full day-to-day operational control of the league.

Why Does This Matter?

American football is having a moment in Mexico, and it just got a whole lot bigger.

The NFL has seen this coming for years:

Now, a private equity fund putting $100 million into Mexico’s pro league might be the clearest signal of just how big this market opportunity is.

If you break down some of the numbers, it makes even more sense:

GSCP’s investment isn’t necessarily bold or them reinventing the wheel.

They’re looking at a massive, passionate fan base, an underbuilt and underleveraged ecosystem, one of the fastest-growing flag football communities in the world, and simply betting on what’s already happening.

If you put it all together, the picture is simple.

Football in Mexico isn’t just a side project or speculative idea.

It’s quickly becoming one of the sport’s most important markets, and now finally has the money and structure behind it to match the demand.

Sources:

• Saudi Arabia To Invest $1B With FIFA. FIFA has signed a deal with the government-backed Saudi Fund for Development that could unlock $1 billion in loans for stadium construction worldwide. The agreement provides finance to build and rehabilitate sports grounds and related infrastructure, particularly in poorer countries. It deepens links between soccer’s governing body and Saudi Arabia, which will host the 2034 men’s World Cup and has already invested billions in the sport (more here).

• SportAI Raises $3M. SportAI, a Norway-based B2B sports technology company using AI to deliver professional-level performance insights through video analysis, raised $3 million in funding. Investors included Altitude Capital, Endre Holen, Alejandro Bedoya, TRK Group Founder, Trond Riiber Knudsen, and tennis player Casper Ruud. Endre Holen, former Head of McKinsey’s Global Tech & Media sector, also joined SportAI as Chairman. The company intends to use the funds to scale global roll-out and expand technical development (more here).

• Sports For Life Raises $2.5M. SFL (Sports for Life), a youth sports platform that brings together academies, leagues, and technology, has raised a Series A funding round of INR 21.57 crore ($2.58 million). The investment was led by Fireside Ventures and Genesia Ventures, along with participation from Roots Ventures, TDV Partners, and other existing backers. The company plans to use the capital to expand its presence, develop new multisport academies, and improve its technology and coaching systems (more here).

• Publicis Sports & Genius Sports Announce Partnership. Genius Sports and Publicis Sports have announced a global partnership aimed at reshaping the future of sports fan engagement and advertising. The collaboration gives Publicis Sports clients direct access to FANHub, Genius Sports’ proprietary, AI-driven sports advertising platform, as well as its next-generation technology. The partnership also leverages Genius Sports’ proprietary data signals to enable brands to connect with specific, verified fans during their peak moments of passion and attention (more here).

• World Rugby & Emirates Extend Partnership. The World Rugby governing body has struck a record-breaking partnership extension with UAE airline Emirates, which will continue to cover top-line events for the next 10 years. Through 2035, Emirates will serve as a World Rugby platinum-tier partner, the sole member of the organization’s highest sponsorship tier. Additionally, Emirates will be the principal partner of all men’s and women’s Rugby World Cup competitions over the duration of the deal, with events in 2027, 2029, 2031, 2033, and 2035 all covered, starting with the men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia (more here).

• Globant & FIFA Extend Partnership. FIFA has expanded its partnership with Globant, a digitally native technology company, to deliver advanced IT solutions, software, and digital platform services across FIFA’s ecosystem. The agreement builds on a four-year collaboration and extends Globant’s role as a Tournament Supporter for the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Canada, Mexico, and the US, as well as the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 in Brazil. The partnership aims to leverage digital innovation to make football more inclusive and accessible, offering tailored experiences to fans worldwide while supporting FIFA’s broader goal of transforming engagement across all tournaments (more here).

• CNBC’s Official NHL Team Valuations 2025. CNBC recently released its 2025 NHL valuations, with the Toronto Maple Leafs remaining the most valuable team, valued at $4.3 billion. The New York Rangers are valued second-highest in the league at $3.8 billion. The Montreal Canadiens hold on to the third spot in the annual rankings, with a value of $3.4 billion. The Los Angeles Kings rank fourth with a $3.15 billion valuation. To round out the top five, the Edmonton Oilers leapfrogged the Boston Bruins to become the fifth-most-valuable team and are now worth $3.1 billion (more here).

• Why Former Athletes Often Become Exceptional Business Leaders. The link between sports and leadership isn’t just anecdotal; it’s proven. A study by Ernst & Young and espnW found that 94% of women in the C-suite played sports, with more than half competing at the collegiate level. A 2023 Deloitte survey reported that 69% of women earning over $100,000 annually and working in leadership roles have an athletic background. The habits athletes develop, such as preparation, resilience, focus, and teamwork, directly translate into the skills that define effective leadership (more here).

• How SailGP Turned This Niche Sport Into A $200M Celebrity Investment Magnet. This summer, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman became co-owners of Australia’s three-time champion SailGP team. Days earlier, Anne Hathaway joined a female-led consortium purchasing Italy’s team for around $45 million. Kylian Mbappé has bought into France’s squad, while Sebastian Vettel, Deontay Wilder, and DeAndre Hopkins have each acquired stakes in teams. So, what’s drawing A-list celebrities away from traditional sports properties and toward a sailing league that’s only been around for six years (more here)?

• Millennials Are Driving A Sports Tourism Boom & Spending Big To Do It. Here’s Why. According to Hilton’s 2026 Trends Report, which polled over 14,000 travelers across 14 countries, approximately 67% of millennials have planned a trip for events related to their interests, including sports, wellness, and concerts. In the US alone, millennials are 80% more likely to plan a vacation for tennis and 87% for pickleball, according to a survey by online travel agency Priceline on travel trends for 2025. And there are no signs of sports tourism slowing down. The sports tourism industry is already a $707.29 billion market and is forecasted to nearly triple by 2032 (more here).

• VC Kara Nortman Bet Early On Women’s Sports & Now She’s Creating The Market. When the NWSL season ended early this month, Angel City FC finished 11th out of 13 teams, a disappointing result for the Los Angeles soccer franchise that venture capitalist Kara Nortman co-founded in 2020. However, the season’s struggles reveal only part of a much larger story that’s reshaping how investors think about women’s sports. Despite its lackluster on-field performance, Angel City itself has become a case study in how to best construct a women’s sports property (more here).

This week’s guest on the Vetted Sports podcast is Sameer Ahuja.

Sameer Ahuja serves as president of GameChanger and senior vice president of DICK’S Sporting Goods.

In this role, Sameer is responsible for leading GameChanger, a leading youth sports mobile app for video streaming, stats & data, scheduling, and communications.

In this episode, we discuss:
‣ How GameChanger is uniting families
‣ What’s driving the $30 billion+ youth sports space
‣ The company’s long-term vision and the impact it wants to make

Check out the full episode here: Apple | Spotify | YouTube