By Eni Muça
How does an idea turn into a project that impacts the community? Often, it starts simply from a daily need. That’s exactly how the journey of Sportisti AL began — a platform aiming to connect sports enthusiasts and simplify the organization of sports activities. In this interview with BusinessMag.al, Taulant Sinani, co-founder of Sportisti.al, shares the story behind the initiative, the challenges they faced, and the vision that keeps them moving forward.
How did the idea for Sportisti.al come about? Was it a personal problem you wanted to solve?
First, thank you for promoting young entrepreneurs and innovative ideas.
I’m Taulant Sinani, one of the co-founders of the platform. I’d like to start by emphasizing that Sportisti AL is a project initiated by myself and my partner, Erjona Bregu.
The idea took shape in 2018, at a time when I had just met Erjona. She often organized sports games among friends and was very skilled at it, but sometimes faced difficulties because her network of sports enthusiasts was limited.
This made me think that a larger community of sports lovers would make the process much easier. So, I proposed to Erjona that we turn this into a business idea — a kind of “travel agency,” but for sports activities.
We started with a simple website where players could register with their information (such as age groups, skill levels, etc.). We also launched social media pages to generate player contacts.
The beginning was challenging — the concept was new — but with the help of our friends, we managed to create the first groups of the “Sports Community,” and we launched the project in December 2019.
Initially, we organized the games ourselves, and participants paid an additional fee besides the field cost. But we soon realized that this business model wasn’t sustainable: the commitment was too great, the profits were low, and players had specific preferences that we couldn’t fully meet in this format.
Thus, the idea was born to create a more advanced platform, where people could self-organize, find players with similar profiles, and have the possibility to locate and book sports complexes easily.
We began our research, found that there were similar platforms in other European countries, and realized that it was a business idea that had been successful elsewhere.
This was encouraging, giving us confidence that it could work. However, we also knew that Albania was a very different reality and would require a platform tailored to our market.
Tell us a bit more about yourself. What’s your professional background and connection to sports?
I, Taulant, was born and lived until the age of 14 in a village near Tirana.
The best memories of my childhood are precisely the sports activities with neighborhood friends.
Like 99% of boys during childhood, I dreamed of becoming a footballer.
I never tried — it remained just a dream because of economic difficulties and the isolation of village life.
At 14, I started high school at “Ismail Qemali” in Tirana. Due to distance, physical activities significantly decreased.
I was a passionate student of exact sciences, but my desire to study law diverted me from the path of engineering or economics.
I graduated in Law in 2011 but realized it wasn’t the right choice for me.
For economic reasons, I couldn’t afford a second degree, so I quickly turned toward entrepreneurship and the sales sector.
I worked as a sales and brokerage consultant and managed a private library for several years.
I suspended this activity to dedicate myself entirely to Sportisti.
Erjona also tried launching a travel agency, but had to suspend that initiative due to the focus needed for the Sportisti project.
Today, she works in consultancy and sales in the Real Estate sector.
She graduated in Finance and Economics and was raised by a father passionate about sports, from whom we also received the suggestion for the platform’s name.
I would describe Erjona as a girl with endless energy, someone who tackles every project with passion and maximum dedication.
She has an extraordinary ability to communicate and to create and maintain long-term relationships with people.
How does the app work for a new user?
Any sports enthusiast can create their profile, just like on any social network, but focused on the sports they like to play and their skill levels.
Through Sportisti.al, users can organize a game by inviting similar individuals based on age, level, and many other filters to find players with shared interests.
A game can be organized among friends as a private event, or as a public event open for anyone who wants to join.
The app also offers communication options via chat, both individually and in groups.
Additionally, any user with a team can create a dedicated team profile and seek challenges with other teams.
The app allows users to find sports complexes and book fields easily and quickly.
After each sporting event, participants can post the game result and rate other players, creating a sense of competition and community among users.
What have been the biggest challenges during the development of the app?
The first major challenge was the lack of information and experience in the technology field.
At the same time, the Albanian market in 2020 didn’t offer the professional expertise you can find today.
It was a complex project requiring field experts, making the challenge even greater.
The first company we collaborated with failed to deliver, costing us a full year.
However, we didn’t give up.
We contacted numerous companies, both local and international, and negotiated with dozens of them to find the right agreement.
It took us almost a year to make a decision, as the costs went far beyond initial projections.
The project was financed solely through our personal savings earned from our jobs.
Despite losing a lot of time, we gained valuable experience about the market and the technologies needed.
Meanwhile, every sporting activity we organized helped us better analyze user needs and improve the platform design.
The company we finally signed with promised a development time of 4 to 6 months, but in reality, the app launched on Play Store and App Store only after a year.
It was a journey full of challenges, but we are proud that we persevered and brought it to life.
After launching, we spent months testing the app with many friends and collaborators who had become part of our growing community.
Today, they are not just our first users but our greatest supporters — our second family.
This platform isn’t just an app; it’s a space where the passion for sports brings people together, creates friendships, and builds a community that grows through play.
Equally challenging was the maintenance and further management of the platform.
After development, we couldn’t reach a sustainable agreement with the initial development partner, so we had to start over to build a new team.
Today, we can proudly say we have the right staff and the necessary people to further develop the platform.
Like every innovation, the biggest challenge remains gaining user trust and educating the market to understand the value and possibilities Sportisti.al offers.
What are the main functionalities of the app?
Sportisti AL is designed as a social network that connects people through sports while offering them the ability to find and book sports venues.
The platform categorizes users into two main groups: players and sports complex managers.
Players can create sports events, join activities organized by others, invite people with similar interests and skills to play, search for and find sports complexes or fields, and book fields directly through the app.
Meanwhile, managers of sports complexes can create a profile for their complex, manage booking schedules, and receive direct booking requests through the app.
How do you see the future of Sportisti.al? Are there plans for a new version, international expansion, or new features?
We are still in the early stages and are working daily to improve the quality of the app and integrate new functionalities, making it even more efficient for both players and sports complexes.
It’s still early, but expanding ‘Sportisti’ beyond Albania is definitely part of our vision.
Passion for sports knows no borders — and neither do we.
What advice would you give young people who have ideas but hesitate to start?
No idea, no matter how well-thought-out, is ever perfect, and problems you didn’t foresee will always arise.
Erjona and I are proud that we didn’t give up despite the many challenges we faced to bring our idea to this point.
Although we are still at the beginning, what we have learned is that you need to start and not give up when facing difficulties or opinions from others saying, “It can’t be done.”
If your idea offers a service to the society you live in, it’s a good idea, and sooner or later, the fruits of your work and dedication will come.
In one sentence — how would you like Sportisti.al to be remembered in your field?
Our motto from the beginning has been: “Sports are not just for watching — play too.”
When I was a child, I often heard my grandfather compliment someone by saying: “You’re a real sportsman.”
When I asked what that meant, he replied that a sportsman is a person with a beautiful, healthy body, a social person, and someone disciplined in relationships with others.
Our desire is for Sportisti to help instill these values in every citizen of Tirana at first, and later across Albania.
We would love for young people to have sports fields — not just bars and clubs — as their daily meeting points.
Our dream is for sports to become a trend and a passion for everyone, not just for professionals.
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