Sports Start-ups Join the Shoot Out at HYPE Foundation’s SPIN Final, Marking the UEFA Final in Cardiff
Just in time for the UEFA Championships League Final, innovative start-ups are gathering at Cardiff University for HYPE Foundation’s Sports Innovation (SPIN) Final. Ten companies will compete in a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style competition in front of an international jury that includes senior representatives from the UEFA, FC Barcelona, Adidas, Amazon and Microsoft.
Participants include VIKTRE, a social networking site for three million current and former athletes, and Exerlights-the first tool to control training in real-time with LED-lights.
- Media and guests are invited to RSVP here (Places are limited)
Also joining the challenge on 2 June in Cardiff is Globall Coach, which was adopted by the Football Association of Wales and allows Wales manager Chris Coleman and his staff to visualise drills by creating tactical animations on a big screen. The software helped improve the team’s win ratio by 25 per cent, driving them to the semi-finals of UEFA Euro 2016-the team’s first major tournament campaign in 58 years.
Other innovative ideas on display include software that helps coaches manage matches, a device that hones players’ passing skills, and an app for fan-led lightshows.
Bernd Wahler, ex-Adidas CMO, VfB STUTTGART President who will chair the jury, said: “The quality of the start-ups is outstanding. We all want to maintain the beauty of the fascinating game and at the same time welcome meaningful and exciting innovations. That’s what this event is all about: showing the world the future of football.”
Other pitches include:
- FanPictor’s app for fan engagement and crowd-led lightshows
- Formalytics’ ‘My Kicks’ app for measuring the speed, spin and flight of a football
- Stryking’s next-gen fantasy sports platform
- Socios Sports’ sports visualisation software
- A passing and peripheral vision trainer called Elite Skills Arena
- iXPole’s hospitality service
- SciSports’ data analysis and bespoke reporting.
Cardiff University is partnering the HYPE Foundation , a global platform connecting and investing in sports innovation, for the event at Cardiff Business School’s high-tech Postgraduate Teaching Centre. A hackathon will precede it, giving students the chance to develop their own ideas.
Companies will be pitching on the day of the UEFA Women’s Champions League Final between holders Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain at Cardiff City Stadium – the first all-French UEFA competition final. Juventus face holders Real Madrid in the men’s final on 3 June, marking a return for hometown hero Gareth Bale.
