Sports events
Organizing a sports event at an arena means working for several audiences at once: participants, the stands, the press and TV viewers. We organized two international mixed martial arts tournaments from scratch, including ticket sales: EFC 50 at Barys Arena in Astana in 2022 drew about 12,000 spectators, and GFC 23 at Almaty Arena in 2019 drew about 9,000 and was broadcast live on Khabar.
Our clients include
A tournament has several audiences
Fighters, spectators, journalists, TV viewers. Each needs something different, and everything has to come together by the start of the tournament.
Participants
At both tournaments, we were in charge of working with the participants. GFC 23 featured fighters from seven countries.
Press and broadcast
At EFC 50, we ran the press center, media accreditation, interviews and broadcast support; more than 50 media stories were published about the tournament. For GFC 23, we held a press conference with Khabib Nurmagomedov and handled the tournament’s promotion.
Program around the fights
A tournament is bigger than the octagon. At GFC 23, we organized master classes for young athletes.
Who is responsible for what
Our team handles the concept, budget, plan and project management. We choose the venue to fit the objective and manage the relationship with it. We coordinate the participants and press relations. At EFC 50 and GFC 23, we were also responsible for tournament security (guards, medical staff and ambulance, spectator entry), as well as the fighters’ flights and accommodation. Sound, lighting, screens, structures and production are handled by specialized contractors under our management.
We calculate the budget for each specific tournament. It covers the venue, production, equipment, logistics, taxes and mandatory payments, and our fee.
A dedicated ROI Group project manager is responsible for delivery. The responsibilities of the parties are set out in the contract.
When you don’t need a tournament
A brand next to sport
For Visa, we ran sports activations: a football camp at Forum Almaty mall timed to the football World Cup, a VR zone at the Asia Triathlon Cup by Issyk-Kul and a brand zone at Shymbulak. For how these mechanics work, see the brand activations page.
Sports for employees
A sports day or a team program for staff is a corporate format. See our team building and corporate events pages.
Project
EFC / GFC international MMA tournaments
Press center, accreditation, TV broadcast, master classes, broken down by tournament. For GFC 23, we have a letter of recommendation.
Questions about sports event organization
What sports events has your agency organized?
ROI Group organized two international mixed martial arts tournaments from scratch, including ticket sales. EFC 50 at Barys Arena in Astana in 2022 drew about 12,000 spectators, and GFC 23 at Almaty Arena in 2019 drew about 9,000. We have a letter of recommendation for GFC 23.
Who is responsible for security and medical support at a sports tournament?
At EFC 50 and GFC 23, ROI Group was responsible for tournament security: guards, medical staff and ambulance, spectator entry. We also handled the fighters’ flights and accommodation. A dedicated project manager is responsible for delivery, and the responsibilities of the parties are set out in the contract.
Who organizes press and TV broadcasting for a tournament?
ROI Group runs press and broadcast work as part of organizing a tournament. At EFC 50, that meant the press center, media accreditation, interviews and broadcast support, and more than 50 media stories were published. GFC 23 was broadcast live on Khabar, and we held a press conference with Khabib Nurmagomedov for it.
How much does it cost to organize a sports tournament?
We calculate the budget for each specific sports tournament; there is no standard price. It covers the venue, production, equipment, logistics, taxes and mandatory payments, and our fee. For an estimate, tell us what sports event you are planning, where and for what audience.
Can a brand get involved in sports without its own tournament?
A brand does not need to host a tournament to work with sports. For Visa, we ran a football camp at Forum Almaty mall timed to the football World Cup, a VR zone at the Asia Triathlon Cup by Issyk-Kul and a brand zone at Shymbulak. For how these mechanics work, see the brand activations page.
Tell us about your tournament
What sports event are you planning, where, and for whom? We will discuss the format and estimate the budget.
Discuss a tournament2. What data. The name, company name, phone number, email and task description that you submit through the form on roigroup.agency.
3. Why. To contact you, clarify your task and prepare a project proposal. We do not send newsletters without your consent.
4. How we store it. Requests reach us via Telegram and the request inbox of the Tilda website builder. Only the employees who handle requests have access. We keep the data for as long as it is needed to respond and to perform a contract, and we delete it at your request.
5. Who we share it with. Form data goes only to the services without which the request cannot reach us: the Tilda website builder and the Telegram messenger. Visit statistics are processed by Google and Yandex (see section 6). We do not sell or publish your data.
6. Cookies and visit statistics. This website uses cookies and the analytics services Google Analytics and Yandex Metrica. They collect information about your visit: which pages you open and how long you stay on them, your device and browser, your approximate city (based on your IP address) and where you came from. Yandex Metrica also records actions on the page, such as scrolling and clicks. We use this information to understand which pages are useful and to improve the website; we do not use it to identify you. Google and Yandex process this data under their own policies and may store it on servers outside Kazakhstan. You can disable cookies in your browser settings, and the website will continue to work.
7. Your rights. You can find out what data we hold about you, correct it or ask us to delete it: write to office@roimedia.kz or call +7 771 071 88 74.
8. Consent. By submitting a request, you consent to the processing of your form data on these terms. By using this website, you consent to the use of cookies and the analytics services described in section 6. Data is processed in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Personal Data and Their Protection”.
Date: October 25, 2026.