“Sportevo promises to serve every sport enthusiast globally…..” Gianluca Anelli

In ‘their’ words, sport is a passion and a mode of evolution. This thought process brought them together to evolve a digital platform that brings athletes, coaches, sport federation professionals, producers and sellers from the sport industry together.  We are talking about SPORTEVO, a curated marketplace dedicated to premium sports, created by some like-minded sportsperson – Francesco, Gianluca, Andrea and Filippo. The creators’ vision was to form a platform where athletes can find their niche sport equipment and where suppliers can meet their global sport audience.

Sportsavour was in talk with Gianluca Anelli, the digital marketing manager of Sportevo far off in Italy. A tennis player for almost 20 years, Gianluca and his team mates wanted to connect any sport enthusiast or professional through Sportevo and give them a chance to share passions, discuss about the future and improve the digital sport ecosystem. They are successful in leading the company with focus on premium and niche sports where prevention is the integral part of an athlete.

1. How did this idea of building a digital Ecosystem came into your mind?

Looking at our team, we all are sport lovers, but with completely different background. Francesco, Sportevo’s founder, is a fencer and has created his own fencing company (ONTC Fencing Equipment). Andrea, the business unit leader, has worked as a football coach in China. I joined them, with my own sporting background. Though we are not professional sportsmen, but we are great sport lovers and we want to motivate people to play like professionals. But often it is found that sportsperson suffer due to the proper availability of quality equipment. Francesco, himself during his fencing career, experienced the difficulty of finding the proper gear locally at a right price. Thus, the idea of forming Sportevo came up in order to resolve this thorny issue. The ecosystem of our company, according to us, is the solution to even out the sports market between big and small players and to bring them onto a single digital platform.

2. How do you amalgamate different fields?

Sportevo is a platform usable by different stakeholders, tied by a passion and an attitude off the charts, where each of us has a relevant role. We have put together a team of experts (athletes, designers, developers, consultants, marketing managers, reporters and businessmen) able to guide every sportsman in his own growth path. It doesn’t matter if you are an athlete, a coach, a producer, a brand manager, a referee or a seller. Loyal to our payoff ‘Play Like A Pro’, we accurately select those partners who provide products that satisfy our rigid guidelines. In this way our customers are sure to find only premium and selected gear on our marketplace.

3. Sportevo is working for the upliftment of lesser-known sports. Name some field in which you are concentrating more.

First of all we are trying to facilitate the access to top quality equipment in every location because for some minor sports this could represent a problematic barrier to entry. Thanks to Sportevo that we can give a global visibility to all our partners. Often we talk to suppliers of premium gear, but with a weak presence on the web. Through our marketplace they are able to overstep local barriers and reach a worldwide customer base.  We welcome all sports except football. Our focus is on premium and niche sports, such as badminton, boxing, cycling, darts, fencing, field hockey, golf, handball, indoor soccer, kite surfing, martial arts, mountaineering, mountain biking, running, skiing, swimming, table tennis, trail-running.

4. For global presence, which countries are you targeting?

We haven’t put any limit. Our target is global and every sportsman of the world is welcome, doesn’t matter the geographic provenance. Sportevo promises to serve every sportsman in need of perfect gear.

5. Along with sportevo, you also started Ryada. Why did you start that?

We created Sportevo because we wanted to facilitate the access to premium equipment to sport enthusiasts of niche sports. But Sportevo is not only a marketplace. It is a meeting place where you can trade products, stories and opportunities. We dream to connect the sportsman from all over the world and to give them a toolkit to experience their own passion and profession in sport. That’s the reason why we created Ryada, which is dedicated to all sport travelling lovers, where sportsmen can find a free accommodation around the world or host another athlete. In this way they can meet new people with the same passion and also can train together. This will give them a deep experience through the basic principles of sport – sharing, having fun, wellness and challenge.

6. The concept of Ryada is very unique. You are providing assistance to a number of sportsperson. But how far do you think that the concept is acceptable?

We believe Ryada to be an innovative opportunity to travel around the world and to meet new people that belong to the same sport family. One of our most challenging issue concerns the safety of our members. That’s why every member can obtain a certified profile by sharing his sport federation subscription number or a final rank of a competition with Ryada.  Quoting Francesco “travelling is a life-long growth. It is both our inner journey and the discovery of new places, of new people, around the world. Your sport is the passport to that journey. It challenges every limit you have, it boosts your ability to establish deep ties with people that have shared a competition, your experiences, your same passion”. Thus, Ryada is not just a community, but also a way to foster and boost the local sport and as well as the economy of every place of origin of each member.

7. What is the response you are getting for Ryada?

 At the moment we have opened only the pre-enrollment phase because we are working hard behind the scenes. Soon all the platform will be accessible and there will be lots of opportunity for all the subscribers. Anyone can visit our site at https://sportevo.pro/playlikeapro/ryada-sport-travel-community/

8. What are the future offerings we can expect from your team?

We can give you a sneak peak. We have officially started the collaboration with Giuseppe from Liminis Project, an Italian by birth but lives in Spain. Giuseppe has chosen to prepare the Ironman of Barcelona 2018, the best example that everybody can play like a pro, if you really want it. In addition to this, we want to spread out to all niche sports. At the moment we cover about 30 disciplines, but we expect to grow soon. In other words, we aspire to become the landmark of every sport enthusiasts, the digital place where you can nurture your dreams and grow in the world of sport in a professional way.