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12 March 2022
10 European sports tech incubators and innovation hubs
Unsplash © Josh Nuttall

10 European sports tech incubators and innovation hubs

In the past five years, the European sports industry has seen an unprecedented number of initiatives to generate innovation in sports and support promising startups in the sector. The initiatives range from incubators and accelerators to innovation hubs and strategic networks.

leAD Sports and Health Tech Partners (Berlin, Germany)

leAD support the growth of early-stage sports and health tech startups globally. Founded in 2016, the German organisation works with innovative solutions across the verticals of fan engagement, connected athletes, and health and well-being. It has 30 companies under its portfolio and counts Adidas and City Bank among its partners.
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HYPE Sports Innovation (London, UK)

Founded in 2015, HYPE Sports Innovation is a global ecosystem in sports innovation, with thousands of retail brands, athletic clubs, federations, academia and startups. HYPE Sports’ global network of 12 locations, with partners such as 1. FC Köln, Loughborough University, Swedish Olympic Committee and NYU, focuses on verticals such as fan engagement, big data and blockchain.
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Le Tremplin (Paris, France)

Launched in 2015, Le Tremplin brings together over 60 sports-related startups with 30 large corporate and institutional partners around mentoring, workshops and events. Sponsored by the economic and innovation development agency of Paris, it provides five distinct services to startups: incubation, networking, the academy, experimentation, and intelligence.
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WyLab (Chiavari, Italy)

Wylab is the first sports tech incubator in Italy, offering early-stage startups a support program that will help them develop great products and services, as well as a thriving work space for young professionals and small businesses. Located in Chiavari, near Genoa, Wylab was founded in 2016 by the founders of Wyscout, one of the biggest football scouting platforms in the world. Find out more → wylab.net
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UEFA Innovation Lab (Nyon, Switzerland)

The UEFA Innovation Lab was established in 2018 as a response to an increasingly demanding environment for football. Through new partnerships and diverse collaborations with a wide range of stakeholders, the lab supports UEFA in adapting to these changes. Since its launch, it has collaborated with several of the hottest sports tech startups, including LiveLike, Second Spectrum, Track160, and GreenFly.
“The European sports industry has seen an unprecedented number of initiatives.”
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Barça Innovation Hub (Barcelona, Spain)

FC Barcelona’s innovation hub is an international R&D centre founded in 2017 to share knowledge and innovate in the sports sector in collaboration with the best brands and professionals. The key areas of application include medical services, performance, technology, team sports, and social sciences.
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Sports Loft (London, UK)

The Sports Loft provides the best sports tech companies with access to leading investors and executives, while also providing sports organisations and investors with access to the most exciting high growth tech companies. Its members, located across the globe, include promising sports tech companies such as Slate, Zone 7, and Spalk.

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GSIC powered by Microsoft (Madrid, Spain)

Launched in 2015, the Global Sports Innovation Center (GSIC) is a three-way collaborative initiative between private, public, and academic partners to support innovation in the sports industry. With Real Madrid as a strategic partner, it counts 200 members across 35 different countries.
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Sports Lab Copenhagen (Copenhagen, Denmark)

Sports Lab Copenhagen is a membership-based hub and network supporting startups innovating in sports and well-being. It counts Hubbster and Jabii among its members, two promising Danish sports tech startups.
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SportUp (Ghent, Belgium)

SportUp is a Flemish sport startup accelerator supporting entrepreneurs and startups. Every year, SportUp supports over 10 sport startups in their progress towards launching a successful product and becoming a healthy sports tech business with a positive impact on the Belgian economy and society. Find out more → sportup.be
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This article was originally published on ParlayMe

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