LEAGUEAPPS SECURES SIGNIFICANT EQUITY INVESTMENT FROM ACCEL-KKR TO ACCELERATE INNOVATION IN YOUTH SPORTS

Investment Will Advance LeagueApps' Growth As a Leading Youth Sports Management Platform and Further its Ability to Serve Organizations, Families, and Communities

NEW YORK, Oct. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- LeagueApps, a leading youth sports management platform, today announced that it has received a significant equity investment from Accel-KKR, a technology-focused investment firm. The investment by Accel-KKR will advance LeagueApps' role in providing youth and local sports organizers with the tools, partnerships, and community they need to succeed on and off the field – helping them manage and grow their clubs, tournaments, leagues, camps, and facilities.

Founded in 2010, LeagueApps currently powers thousands of youth and local sports organizations across eight different team sports, as well as programs by many professional leagues and professional teams. To date, the LeagueApps platform has helped youth sports organizations manage millions of events, process billions of dollars that enable their sports programming, as well as support their engagement of millions of players, parents, and coaches.  

Brian Litvack, LeagueApps' CEO & Co-Founder, said, "We are thrilled to team up with Accel-KKR to further our mission to create amazing sports experiences for all. The youth sports industry is evolving, and LeagueApps strives to provide more solutions, technology and data to youth sports communities. The partnership with Accel-KKR will give us capabilities and resources that enhance our ability to serve organizations that are central to the youth sports experience."

Jeremy Goldberg, LeagueApps' President & Co-Founder, said, "We are eager to build on the strengths of our product and technology, and will use this investment to expand our capabilities across more dimensions of youth sports management, and further impact the experience of coaches, parents and participants via our web and mobile technology and partnerships. We chose to partner with Accel-KKR because of the firm's track record of supporting market-leading software firms as they have grown, with a portfolio of over 60 software companies that also are committed to innovation and success. Accel-KKR is a perfect fit with our values-led culture and they share our belief in our mission to impact the world through sport."

Dean Jacobson, Managing Director at Accel-KKR, said, "We have been impressed by LeagueApps' key role in the rapidly evolving youth sports universe, and their vision of how technology can be integrated to help organizations scale, simplify, build community, and enable more youth athletes and families to participate. We are excited to support their important mission to bring the benefits of sport to kids and communities everywhere."

In conjunction with the significant equity investment in LeagueApps by Accel-KKR, Arctos Partners, a private investment firm with a platform dedicated to the sports industry, will also make a minority investment. Since 2020, Arctos has invested in over 25 professional sports franchises, including the Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Tampa Bay Lightning, as well as mobile sports platforms like SeatGeek.

Existing investors Contour Venture Partners, funds managed by Hamilton Lane and a range of sports and business leaders will continue their involvement with LeagueApps in support of its mission to deliver amazing sports experiences. These investors include Julie Foudy (Broadcaster, Olympic Gold Medalist, USWNT World Cup Champion), Shane Battier (NBA Champion, NCAA Champion), Swin Cash (New Orleans Pelicans SVP of Basketball Operations & Team Development, NCAA Champion, WNBA Champion, Olympic Gold Medalist), Dhani Jones (11-yr NFL veteran, NCAA Champion), and Derrick Dockery (10-yr NFL veteran).

Julie Foudy, former captain of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team and founder of the Julie Foudy Sports Leadership Academy, said, "I've experienced the value that LeagueApps provides through its technology in my own organization, the Julie Foudy and espnW Sports Leadership Academy, as well to the industry as a whole through NextUp, FundPlay, and their strategic partnerships. There's so much opportunity to make youth sports better for everyone, and I'm excited to continue my involvement with LeagueApps and to be joined by others who share our commitment to elevating the industry through innovation and community." 

LeagueApps is committed to continuing its leadership of the youth sports industry. LeagueApps launched and leads NextUp, the leading industry conference created to provide youth sports leaders with the professional development and networking opportunities, and co-founded and chairs the PLAY Sports Coalition, the industry's advocacy platform that has unlocked millions of dollars in federal and state funding. LeagueApps has been involved in the Aspen Institute's Project Play initiative since inception, and has committed to be in the 63x30 Roundtable that involves leading organizations focused on increasing U.S. youth sports participation to 63% by 2030. 

LeagueApps will continue to use its success to fuel its ability to increase access and improve the quality of youth sports experiences. LeagueApps' impact initiative, FundPlay, has now officially grown into a public charity, FundPlay Foundation, a 501c3 that provides technology, resources and professional development to support sports-based youth development organizations doing amazing work in underserved communities. Over 200 youth sports organizations have received grants of free, perpetual licenses of LeagueApps software and more than 275,000 youth sports opportunities have been enabled in underserved communities as a result. The foundation has set a goal of enabling another 500,000 unique sports experiences over the next three years.

About Accel-KKR
Accel-KKR is a technology-focused investment firm with $19 billion in cumulative capital commitments. The firm focuses on software and tech-enabled businesses, well-positioned for top-line and bottom-line growth. At the core of Accel-KKR's investment strategy is a commitment to developing strong partnerships with the management teams of its portfolio companies and a focus on building value alongside management by leveraging the significant resources available through the Accel-KKR network. Accel-KKR focuses on middle-market companies and provides a broad range of capital solutions, including buyout capital, minority-growth investments, and credit alternatives. Accel-KKR also invests across various transaction types, including private company recapitalizations, divisional carve-outs and going-private transactions. Accel-KKR's headquarters is in Menlo Park, with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, London, and Mexico City. Visit accel-kkr.com to learn more.

About Arctos
Arctos is a private investment firm that provides bespoke growth capital and liquidity solutions, differentiated thought partnership, and value creation advice to sports franchises (Arctos Sports) and alternative asset managers, their funds, and portfolio companies (Arctos Keystone). Founded in 2019, Arctos serves as a catalyst for innovation and business transformation for its portfolio companies and its markets. The firm's proprietary approach is anchored by its unique quantitative research and data science platform, Arctos Insights. Arctos has a team of more than 50 investment and operational professionals with investment and operating expertise across industries, geographies, and economic cycles. The firm is headquartered in Dallas, with office locations in New York, and London. For more information, visit www.arctospartners.com or Arctos' company page on LinkedIn.

About LeagueApps
LeagueApps is the leading youth sports management platform. Powering thousands of leading organizations from teams, clubs, and camps to professional leagues, LeagueApps is on a mission to bring the benefits of sport to kids everywhere. Through its software and NextUp platform, which provides organizers with opportunities for leadership development and networking, LeagueApps supports and strengthens the youth sports industry. It also runs FundPlay, a philanthropic program focused on sports-based youth development programs in underserved communities, and is a founding member of the PLAY Sports Coalition.

Visit leagueapps.com for more information.

Media Contacts:

For Accel-KKR & LeagueApps
Todd Fogarty, Kekst CNC
[email protected]
+1-919.992.1170

For Arctos
Prosek Partners
[email protected]

SOURCE LeagueApps; Accel-KKR

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