Sports Conferences: An Introduction
In the sports industry, conferences are designed for a range of professionals: from athletes and coaches to event professionals who handle fan experiences, sponsorships and off-site events, to team members focused on analytics, partnerships and more.
For an industry that’s so incredibly global—and touches so many more lives than just the people working for sports organizations—conferences in the field are especially important for getting a pulse on trends, market insights and upcoming trailblazers. It’s where folks go to ensure they stay ahead of the curve, network with their foreign-based counterparts and advance closer to their goals, whether that be finding new streams of revenue, appealing to new partners or tapping further into experiential.
In this guide, expect to explore the most anticipated conferences of 2025, complete with travel stops, key themes and unique opportunities that await attendees. Whether you’re looking to deepen your knowledge, forge new connections or discover emerging trends, the sports conferences of the upcoming year are not to be missed.
Sports Conferences
Sports conferences, like in any other industry, can be B2B or B2C.
Among the most popular business-to-consumer sports conferences is popular film festival South by Southwest (SXSW)’s sports track, which typically spans three of the tentpole event’s week-long schedule. ADWEEK also hosted its first-ever Sports Marketing Summit in New York City in May because “sports are on fire,” according to the event’s website. Though it remains unclear if there’s a second iteration of the one-day summit in 2025, just its introduction is proof enough that sports is on the cusp of a transformative era.
However, the lion’s share of sports-industry conferences you’ll find below will be business-to-business, targeting industry professionals like coaches, managers, marketers and executives. They’ll also prioritize giving attendees takeaways that can be applied in a business setting, as well as networking and collaboration opportunities.
Other key aspects of sports conferences may include:
- Expert Speakers and Panels: On-stage programming may feature thought leaders from various sectors of the sports industry—not only professional athletes—who can share insights on what’s hot, what’s not and other best practices. And because the event is all about sports, dialogue may span sponsorship models, brand visibility through partnerships, contracts, intellectual property and compliance, just to name a few.
- Workshops: Hands-on learning experiences can be typical of sports conferences, opening up conversations on specific topics (think: sports marketing, analytics, athlete management or emerging technologies) that impact the sports landscape.
- Exhibitors: Just because a conference is about sports doesn’t mean there won’t be an exhibit hall where vendors in the industry can showcase relevant products.
Sports Conferences and Summits
Though the terms “conference” and “summit” are often used interchangeably, they can imply different purposes.
A conference, for instance, generally focuses on professional development and sharing knowledge between professionals in a field, thus attracting a broader audience that may also include students.
Summits, however, typically signify higher-level discussions about specific industry challenges or successes. With that, the audience tends to be smaller, with networking opportunities diving past a simple information exchange to include in-depth discussions on potential strategic partnerships or other business collaborations.
Keep this in mind as you peruse upcoming events in the sector below—many of which include either “conference” or “summit” in the event name.
Sports Conference Attendee Data: Event Intelligence
Being clued in to attendee data is crucial for any team, no matter the industry. Simply put, knowing who will attend which event can significantly increase your lead generation, boost sales and increase the overall benefits of attending that specific conference, summit or expo.
If you’re sending your sales team to approach prospects, you need to ensure those prospects will be there—data that’s collected through event intelligence. Though it’s no longer an all-new technology, companies have yet to use event intelligence to its full potential. For reference, event intelligence uses the combination of artificial intelligence, data monitoring and historical data to make accurate predictions about who is attending certain events.
Vendelux’s AI-powered insights platform allows you to choose the best sports conferences based on your marketing or sales team’s goals, thus garnering the greatest return on investment. When you sign up, you can create a list of people you want to meet and, in return, receive a list of events they will be attending.
Sports Conferences to Attend in 2025
Now that we’ve gone through the basics, it’s finally time to mark your calendars for the best upcoming conferences, exhibitions and summits in sports.
Here’s a list of the best upcoming sports conferences:
| Event Name | Event Date & Location | Event Summary | Event Attendee Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sports Technology at CES 2025 | January 7-10, 2025, The Venetian; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA | CES is where the sports, exercise and fitness community converge to explore the role technology plays in changing the business of sports through enhancing athletic performance, smart arenas, esports and next-generation sponsorships. | Sports Track N/A Find event attendee data on the wider CES 2025 event |
| Sports Field Managers Association (SFMA) Conference and Exhibition | January 13-15, 2025, Palm Springs Convention Center; Palm Springs, California, USA | The SFMA Conference and Exhibition is an annual event featuring a trade show and exhibition, where members of the sports turf industry—and specifically sports field management professionals—come together to share information and network. | NA |
| FISU World Conference on Innovation - Education - Sport | January 14, 2025, Torino, Italy | The conference’s theme is "The SPRINT Generation: SPort – Risk – INnovation – Technology” come 2025, where it will serve as an opportunity to discuss and share new ideas, projects and cooperative efforts in the area of sports science. | NA |
| Sports Licensing and Tailgate Show (SLATS) | January 22-24, 2025, Las Vegas Convention Center; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA | SLATS is a B2B trade show for the sports licensing and tailgate industries that also serves as a marketplace for businesses that sell relevant services, products or supplies to professional leagues and collegiate sports teams. | NA |
| International Sports Convention (ISC)’s Women's Sport Business Summit | January 30, 2025, London, UK | The Women’s Sport Business Summit is one of the ISC’s many annual events that offers insightful discussions, workshops and keynotes featuring influential women reshaping the sports industry. | NA |
| Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA) Conference | January 30-31, 2025, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA | As part of COSMA’s mission to promote excellence in sport management education worldwide, the COSMA Conference brings students, employers, industry professionals and fans together to learn from the latest research and teaching practices in the sector. | NA |
| Event Name | Event Date & Location | Event Summary | Event Attendee Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPOBIS Conference 2025 | February 5-6, 2025, CCH Congress Center; Hamburg, Germany | The SPOBIS Conference is Europe’s largest sports business event, bringing together the most important players in the industry to discuss forward-looking trends, opportunities and challenges in the sports business while networking and initiating business. | NA |
| Sports Industry Networking & Career (SINC) Conference | February 21-22, 2025, George Washington University; Washington, DC, USA | SINC is the premier sports industry conference where college students and career changers come together with sports industry professionals to learn more about the industry and network with leaders across a variety of different areas, including sports leagues, teams, media, agencies, esports, venues, the Olympics and more. | NA |
| Global Sports Business Association (GSBA) Cruise Conference | February 21-24, 2025, Royal Caribbean's "Independence of the Seas" cruise ship; departing from the Port of Miami in Miami, Florida, and making two stops in the Bahamas, at Coco Cay and Nassau | The GSBA Conference is an event that focuses on the various aspects of the sport business industry, fostering collaboration and innovation among stakeholders with keynote speeches and other educational programming designed to discuss research, trends and best practices. | NA |
| Event Name | Event Date & Location | Event Summary | Event Attendee Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sports Business Journal’s 2025 Sports Business Awards | March 4 Hard Rock Hotel; New York, New York, USA | Launched in 2008, the Sports Business Awards were established by Sports Business Journal to celebrate excellence in the business of sports. | NA |
| MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference | March 7-8, 2025, Hynes Convention Center; Boston, Massachusetts, USA | The MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference aims to explore how data and analytics are transforming the sports industry, fostering discussions on both theoretical and practical applications. | NA |
| SXSW Sports Track | Exact dates TBD, sometime during larger SXSW Conference March 7–15 Austin, Texas, USA | The Sports Track at SXSW is a part of the broader festival that focuses on the intersection of sports, technology and culture. | Sports Track N/A. Find event attendee data on the wider SXSW 2025 event here |
| NEXT Summit | March 11-13, 2025 Brookfield Place; New York, New York, USA | The NEXT Summit is an event focused on the future of sports, bringing together leaders and innovators from various sectors within the sports industry, including entrepreneurs, investors and technology providers, among others. | NA |
| International Association for Communication and Sport (IACS) Summit on Communication and Sport | March 13-15, 2025, Chicago, Illinois, USA | The IACS Summit is the only standalone conference for communication researchers interested in exploring sport from diverse critical, methodological, theoretical and multi-disciplinary perspectives. | NA |
| International Sports Convention (ISCO) | March 19-20, 2025 Tottenham Hotspur Stadium; London, UK | The ISCO is a major event that focuses on the business and development of sports globally by bringing together stakeholders from federations, clubs, sponsors and service providers to discuss challenges, innovations and opportunities within the sports ecosystem. | NA |
| SportsPro New York | March 20-21, 2025, New York, New York, USA | SportsPro New York is the meeting place for the largest sports broadcast, streaming and media market in the world, bringing together experts from across the US who are looking to navigate the ever-evolving sports and media landscape while harnessing opportunities to grow, engage and monetise their audiences. | View event attendee data |
| Event Name | Event Date & Location | Event Summary | Event Attendee Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPORTEL Miami 2025 | April 1-2, 2025, JW Marriott Miami; Miami, Florida, USA | SPORTEL Miami is a two-day event that brings together key decision-makers from media rights holders, TV networks, streaming platforms, sportstech companies and start-ups, uniting global sports media with tech executives to exchange insights on the industry’s latest developments and innovations. | NA |
| Sports ETA Symposium | April 14-17 Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA | The Sports ETA Symposium is the annual meeting of the Sports Events & Tourism Association (Sports ETA), the non-profit trade association for the sports events and tourism industry since 1992. | NA |
| CAA World Conference of Sports | April 21-23, 2025, Nashville, Tennessee, USA | The CAA World Conference of Sports is organized by the Creative Artists Agency (CAA), focusing on bringing together leaders—including executives, sports agents, athletes, marketers, sponsors and media professionals—to discuss trends in various aspects of the sports industry. | NA |
| SportsPro Live | April 29-30, 2025, Kia Oval; London, UK | SportsPro Live is a prominent annual conference focused on the business of sports, particularly in the context of innovation, technology and media. | NA |
| Event Name | Event Date & Location | Event Summary | Event Attendee Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Move United Education Conference | May 5-7, 2025, Park City, Utah, USA | The Move United Education Conference invites sports providers to gather over a common interest in ensuring athletes with disabilities have access to sport. | NA |
| International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO) European Convention (IEC) | May 19-21, 2025, Gran Canaria, Spain | IAGTO’s IEC event is all about fostering education, partnerships and relationship building for professionals and stakeholders in the golf tourism industry in Europe. | NA |
| North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM) Conference | May 27-30, 2025, San Diego, California, USA | NASSM’s annual conference focuses on the girls of sport management, helping to shape the future of the field through collaboration and innovation during presentations on a wide range of topics, including marketing, administration and the impact of technology. | NA |
| Event Name | Event Date & Location | Event Summary | Event Attendee Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| International Sports Convention (ISC)’s USA Soccer Summit | June 12, 2025, Jack McManus Field; New York, New York, USA | ISC’s USA Soccer Summit is a premier event uniting soccer enthusiasts, professionals and industry leaders for a dynamic exploration of the sport’s evolving landscape in the United States. | NA |
| Hosts and Federations Summit | June 16-18, 2025, Olympic Museum; Lausanne, Switzerland | The Hosts and Federations Summit aims to facilitate discussions and collaborations between sports federations and host cities or countries with keynote sessions, on-stage educational programming and a plethora of networking opportunities. | NA |
| North America Golf Tourism Convention (NAC) | June 17-19, 2025, Birmingham, Alabama, USA | The NAC focuses on promoting golf tourism across North America, bringing together golf tour operators, travel agents, golf course managers, and representatives from destinations looking to promote their golf offerings. | NA |
| ALSD Conference and Tradeshow (aka Premium Experience Conference) | June 22-24, 2025 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA | The ALSD Conference and Tradeshow, organized by the Association of Luxury Suite Directors (ALSD), focuses on the premium seating and hospitality sectors of the sports and entertainment industry with speeches, panel discussions and a trade show that showcases the latest products, services and technologies designed to enhance the luxury suite experience and overall hospitality offerings. | NA |
| 16th National Sports Safety and Security Conference & Exhibition | June 30-July 2, 2025, JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa; San Antonio, Texas, USA | The 16th National Sports Safety and Security Conference & Exhibition focuses—as its name suggests—on enhancing safety and security practices within the sports industry. | View event attendee data |
| World Ecommerce Forum | Day in June TBD, 2025, Mexico | WFS Americas focuses on the business of football (or soccer, as we know it in the US) on a global scale, attracting executives from football clubs, leagues and governing bodies, as well as sponsors and media who wish to network and learn about topics such as digital transformation, fan engagement, trending marketing strategies, sustainability and more. | NA |
| Event Name | Event Date & Location | Event Summary | Event Attendee Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sports, Entertainment & Innovation Conference (SEICon) | July 14-16, 2025, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA | SeiCon is a specialized event that aims to bring together the world’s leading sports, entertainment and innovation leaders with the shared goal of exploring the latest and greatest at the intersection of sports, entertainment and technology. | NA |
| Event Name | Event Date & Location | Event Summary | Event Attendee Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business of Sports Summit (BOSS) | August 20, 2025, Sydney, Australia | BOSS includes educational programming, panel discussions and workshops with experts and executives at the world’s largest sports organizations in order to share insights on the commercial aspects of the sports industry. | NA |
| Event Name | Event Date & Location | Event Summary | Event Attendee Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| European Association for Sport Management (EASM) Conference | September 2-5, 2025, Budapest, Hungary | The EASM Conference is all about studying the practice of sport management in Europe and beyond, typically featuring a mix of keynote speeches, academic presentations, panel discussions and workshops designed to share research findings, case studies and best practices. | NA |
| International Sports Convention (ISC)’s Brands and Sponsorship Summit | September 25, 2025, Unilever House; London, UK | ISC’s Brands and Sponsorship Summit is a gathering focused on bringing together key players in sports branding and sponsorship. | NA |
| Event Name | Event Date & Location | Event Summary | Event Attendee Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| International Golf Travel Market (IGTM) | October 20-23, 2025, Palais des Festivals et des Congrès; Cannes, France | The IGTM is a prominent trade event specifically serving golf-tourism professionals—such as operators of golf tours, courses, tourism boards and more—who are looking to get a pulse on the industry, network and promote their offerings. | NA |
| World Football Summit (WFS) Europe | Day in October TBD, 2025, Madrid, Spain | Like WFS Americas, WFS Europe focuses on the business of football (or soccer, as we know it in the US) on a global scale, attracting executives from football clubs, leagues and governing bodies, as well as sponsors and media who wish to network and learn about topics such as digital transformation, fan engagement, trending marketing strategies, sustainability and more. | NA |
| Event Name | Event Date & Location | Event Summary | Event Attendee Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| North American Society Society for the Sociology of Sport (NASSS) Conference | November 5-8, 2025, The Westin Seattle; Seattle, Washington, USA | The NASSS works to promote the sociological study of sports, games, play and contemporary physical culture—a mission it brings to life each year during its annual conference, which is chock full of networking receptions, educational sessions and learning-focused luncheons. | NA |
| Sports Business Journal (SBJ)’s Media Innovators | November 18, 2025, Location TBD | SBJ’s Media Innovators event was established in 2001, expanding on the company’s position at the center of the sports, media and betting industries to prove insights to industry professionals on the latest in solutions designed to help examine and navigate the sports media landscape. | NA |
| Event Name | Event Date & Location | Event Summary | Event Attendee Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sports Business Journal (SBJ)’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum | December 9-10, 2025, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA | SBJ’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum promises to provide an insider’s view on the business of college sport, complete with information, education and tools needed to go forward and lead college athletics into the future. | NA |
