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The Saints have invited “early Sporttech” to test their unique solutions aimed at innovating football and creating new experiences for sports fans.
Together for the Future of Soccer
Jointly with Yolo, the group bringing next-level innovation to the worlds of gaming, fintech, and blockchain, and Sports Republic, the London-based investment firm focused on sports and entertainment, the football club has a four-week virtual program started. The Future of Football program revolves around the developments of Sportstech and Web3. The campaign aims to discover and leverage new solutions that will help the king of the sport grow in the future. The list of resolutions that the three parties are pursuing through the new program spans a range of disciplines related to loyalty programs, gamification, global fan engagement, and game day experiences. Sportstech startups are welcome to join. Bring your new ideas for exploration, recovery, and game analysis.
Sarah Batters, Director of Marketing and Partnerships at Southampton, spoke of the club’s “commitment to fostering innovation and making a ‘positive impact.’ She identified these goals as core to its operations and process of participating startups contributing to the future of the grassroots sport.
Customized Workshops for Qualifying Participants
All startups that fully meet the program’s qualification requirements will be invited to participate in a series of “custom workshops” organized with the help of Grupo Yolo. The group is the operating company of the blockchain betting brand. Sportsbet.io, Southampton’s main sponsor for the last two years, will help the best startups test their pilot solutions. At the end of the tests, the grand finale will take place at St. Mary’s Stadium.
Startups will have the opportunity to present their ideas for a business partnership with the football club and potentially win a share of the total £100,000 unrestricted prize pool for solution development at the end of the program. Yolo founder Tim Heath described the program as “designed to push boundaries” and bring together various solutions from startups worldwide. Heath called the “future of football” an opportunity to create and test approaches. In December 2022, Yolo appointed Joe McCallum as the new game director for business-to-consumer. Sports Republic and Southampton Chairman Henrik Kraft expressed his excitement at being part of the challenge that would help infuse sports technology with innovation.
In late 2020, Southampton announced they would support RecoverMe, a new mobile app designed to provide discreet support to at-risk players. The app would use cognitive behavioral therapy to treat gaming problems.
