Euroleague Basketball’s FanXP Innovation Challenge has partnered with Tech Barcelona to elevate the mentoring program of the event and connect the participating start-ups to a wide-ranging investor network.
With the aim of offering fans the best experience possible, the FanXP Innovation Challenge – staged in collaboration with N3XT Sports – challenges the latest generation of tech startups to join the sports fan revolution with creative and unique ideas. 38 applicants threw their hats into the ring - ranging from arena management to digital fan engagement - to take part in the biggest basketball startup competition in the world, with those entries facing a review by a jury panel before the top nine are selected to join a virtual final event. Content creation platform Slate took the prize among this years’ finalists ImagineAR, LivXp AG, Fanprime, Seyu Solutions Ltd., Sceenic, LiveDuel, FanDome FRM and Clupik.
Supporting the contest, Tech Barcelona is an independent and non-profit association that works to consolidate Barcelona as a technological and digital hub of international reference. Created in 2013, it represents more than 1,000 members - entrepreneurs, founders, executives or investors - and has more than 70 partner companies, leaders in their sector, committed to the project.
Roser Queralto, Euroleague Basketball’s Chief Business Officer, said: “We are committed to staying at the forefront of technology innovations within the framework of professional sports, and partnering with initiatives like Tech Barcelona will help maintain our position as a progressive and forward-thinking organization.”
Didac Lee, Vicepresident of Tech Barcelona said: “The collaboration between Euroleague Basketball and Tech Barcelona is good news for the sports tech ecosystem. Startups and corporations have to work hand in hand to generate the growth dynamics that we want for Barcelona, which is already the third most preferred city for European entrepreneurs, for it to be consolidated as an international hub for the tech and sports industries.”