MLS Future of the Game Showcase: Pioneering Soccer Tech

Major League Soccer continues to lead sports innovation through the Future of the Game Showcase held in tandem with the 2025 All-Star Week at Q2 Stadium in Austin. This event offers a rare, real-time demonstration of breakthrough technologies integrated into live MLS action.

MLS’s Innovation Lab incubates early-stage tech companies, providing access to live matches as development platforms—and even the option for league investment.

Featured Technologies & Their Impact

1. EDGE Sound Research

Utilizes AI to isolate audio sources—such as individual player voices—from stadium noise. This “mic’d-up” experience could enrich both in-stadium and broadcast audio without violating sideline mic restrictions.

2. Oliver Sports

OLIVER Sports: AI-powered GPS trackers worn by MLS NEXT All-Stars—captures nuanced metrics including ball interactions to boost training and scouting.

3. Lubu Technologies

Wearable smart insoles that monitor ground force, cleat performance, and pressure distribution—delivering data for performance optimization and recovery.

4. Wicket

A facial authentication system enabling ticketing, payments, access control, and credentialing—delivering seamless in-stadium logistics.

5. Camb.AI

AI-powered real-time dubbing that translates live match audio into multiple languages while preserving the speaker’s original tone—expanding global accessibility.

6. Sportec Solutions

MLS’s data partner showcasing AI Live Ticker and Data Story Finder—innovative tools that transform raw stats into compelling visualizations for fans.

7. OneCourt

An accessibility-first innovation—a tactile tablet translating live gameplay into vibrations, designed for visually impaired fans to “feel” the action.

Why It Matters

This showcase underlines MLS’s commitment to real-world testing, not just theoretical innovation. Teams and tech begin their lifecycle here—on live fields, in front of fans and execs.

The league's evolving partnership with Apple further amplifies this initiative—integrating streaming and production innovation into fan experiences via MLS Season Pass and tailored broadcast tools.

What’s Next?

MLS’s approach blends sport, technology, and innovation spotlight how real-time data, AI, and inclusive tech can reshape the soccer experience from training sessions to broadcast and in-stadium immersion.

Stay Tuned for more insights and continue to follow Sports Tech Atlanta and the Seed Talk Podcast for sports tech updates and highlights.

The New MVPs of Youth Sports: How A New Crop Of Startups Are Empowering Parents to Capture and Analyze Every Game-Changing Moment

Youth sports have always been filled with unforgettable moments from buzzer-beaters, the unexpected hat-tricks, and the sheer joy of a game well played. But for too long, capturing those moments meant relying on shaky smartphone videos and relying on memory for stats and insights. Now, a new generation of tech-forward companies is changing that, giving parents and athletes tools once reserved for professional teams. You probably know the old guard like Hudl, Pixellot, FullCourt AI; but there is a whole crop of new companies that are redefining the Youth Sports video space.

Enter Baller Cam, Rematch U.S., TeamSportz, Ballin AI, and Ballers: a new wave of innovative startups using AI, automation, and cloud-based platforms to help families not just relive their kid’s best moments, but truly analyze and elevate their game at a fraction of the cost.

1. Baller Cam: The Smart Camera for Every Court and Field

Baller Cam is transforming how youth sports are recorded. Their smart, automated camera system follows the action without a human operator, ensuring every play is captured with professional-grade framing and clarity. Whether it’s soccer, basketball, or football, Baller Cam eliminates the guesswork of who’s filming and lets parents focus on cheering.

Key Feature: AI-powered tracking that follows the ball and players with cinematic precision — no more missing key plays because the camera wasn’t pointed in the right direction

2. Rematch U.S.: Instant Highlights, No Editing Needed

The core technology is its AI-powered auto-rewind feature. A common problem facing anyone trying to tape key moments in sporting events is either not knowing when to press record — it’s easy to miss a highlight — or recording too much and filling up your device’s storage with less memorable moments.

What Rematch enables a user to keep the video screen open but not press record until after the goal or pass or save. The app then takes the previous 15 seconds and preserves it as a clip. Video is initially captured horizontally but can be auto-edited to a vertical format for distribution on popular social platforms.

Why It Matters: Parents no longer need to spend hours editing footage. With Rematch, every game becomes a professional-looking sizzle reel in minutes.

3. TeamSportz: Performance Analytics That Go Beyond the Score (Sports Tech Atlanta Client Partner)

TeamSportz goes deeper than video — it's a performance tracker that uses AI and motion recognition to analyze individual players' movement, effort, and decision-making. Parents and coaches get a dashboard showing data like acceleration, endurance, and reaction time. In addition to AI performance, TeamSportz platform helps leagues and teams with scheduling and stat recording.

Standout Benefit: Think of it as a Fitbit for team sports — giving personalized feedback that can help kids (and parents) understand where to improve without relying on just subjective feedback.

Try TeamSportz for Free here.

4. Ballin AI: Highlighting Talent with Smarter Recruiting Tools

Ballin AI blends video with AI analysis to create player portfolios optimized for recruiting. The platform automatically tags players, ranks performance, and builds a highlight library that athletes and parents can use to send to scouts and colleges. Through the platform, athletes can gain insight into how they are playing as well as how college coaches view their game. Players upload their film, which is then analyzed by a nationally recognized evaluator and scored across key criteria such as defense, shooting, rebounding, scoring, transition, ball handling, and finishing. This platform was a three-year effort led by Ballin AI Chief Development Officer Tenishia Benson.

Recruiting Ready: It’s one of the first platforms to democratize scouting tools — making sure talent isn’t overlooked because of a lack of exposure or resources.

5. Ballers: A Social Platform Built for the Youth Sports Generation

Ballers is reimagining the youth sports experience as a digital-first community. Part social app, part video archive, Ballers lets athletes and parents upload footage, celebrate achievements, follow teammates, and build a digital legacy of their sports journey.

The Big Picture: Ballers captures more than just games — it captures the culture of youth sports. Think Instagram meets Hudl, designed specifically for Gen Z athletes and their families.

A New Era for Youth Sports Parents

These companies are doing more than just improving content — they’re giving parents tools to be more engaged, informed, and supportive. Whether it’s analyzing sprint speed or sharing a game-winning goal, families now have a front-row seat and an all-access pass to their athlete’s journey.

No more missed moments. No more lost footage. Just smarter, faster, and better ways to celebrate and improve.

Sports Tech Atlanta Upcoming Events

As we continue to grow in sports technology, we are excited to bring events to help connect, engage, and develop the sports technology ecosystem. Upcoming Events

LA Sports Council meetup

Intennse Tennis VIP Event with ProFluence

Investor Dinner

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