Six sports technology companies will be given the chance to have their solutions trialled in football venues after being selected as winners of the Reimagine Football challenge.
The challenge was launched by the Football Innovation Platform, which includes representatives from the Dutch Football Association (KNVB), UEFA, City Football Group, Johan Cruyff ArenA (pictured) and Ajax, to explore solutions to advance the football experience amid COVID-19.
The challenge attracted 329 entries from 38 countries. The entries were divided into four themes: fans at home, stadium operation, stadium visitors and amateur football. A panel of experts selected 27 solutions, which were eventually whittled down to six winners across the four categories.
In the fans at home category, LiveLike was selected as the winner. The company serves as a social platform for football fans and offers interaction, gamification and other entertainment.
Signify was recognised in the stadium operation category. Signify’s solution centres on technology to disinfect the air inside the stadium through UVC radiation, reducing the risk of viruses such as COVID-19 spreading.
In the stadium visitors category, Immersiv.io and Close emerged as winners. Immersiv.io is an application that allows fans to see live match information and player statistics through augmented reality, while Close enables supporters to receive exclusive information and communicate with each other to enhance the game-day experience.
B42 and Humanox were selected in the amateur football category. BF2 offers an app that allows the user to remotely support players during their rehabilitation from injuries, while Humanox’s product centres on shin pads that are equipped with sensors that measure and provide insight into player performance data through an online platform.
Members of the Football Innovation Platform will now explore how the solutions can be applied in practice.
Image: cfcunofficial/Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)
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