We're proud to announce that PLAYBACK has won the Rising Star Award at the UK StartUp Awards 2026 National Final.

In June we won the London Rising Star Award. That earned us a place in the national final against the winners from every other region of the UK, and on 9 September, at the National Final at Ideas Fest, PLAYBACK was named the UK's Rising Star.

It is our second national title from the UK StartUp Awards in two years, following UK National Global StartUp of the Year in 2025. It also caps a big week for the team: days earlier, PLAYBACK was named Best Growth Strategy winner at the World Football Summit Awards 2026.

The mission has not changed. AI cameras, GPS tracking, live streaming and player profiles, the same tools used by the world's top clubs, put in the hands of grassroots teams, academies and young players. Today that reaches 75,000+ players across 25+ partner clubs and academies in 14 countries.

Our thanks to the UK StartUp Awards, the judging panel and everyone at Ideas Fest. Congratulations to every regional winner who made the national final, and to all of this year's category winners.

To every partner, player, coach, parent and ambassador in the PLAYBACK Network: this one is yours. We're just getting started.

The PLAYBACK Team