Turkish giants Fenerbahce partner with HYPE Sports Innovation to bring forth the next wave of SportsTech

As sports clubs express greater interest in innovative technology initiatives, Fenerbahçe and the 1907 Fenerbahçe Association, one of Turkey’s leading sports clubs, have teamed up with the world’s leading sports tech ecosystem, HYPE Sports Innovation, to launch a special acceleration program for startups

Sports technology initiatives that are engaged in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, the internet of things (IoT), big data, and more are helping sports clubs gain capabilities to evaluate millions of their followers and their wealth of data.

In this sense, incubation centers and acceleration programs are of great importance, because they are platforms that help realize mutual opportunities for sports brands and up and coming startups.

Looking at innovations in sports and seeking to maximize the potential of sports technology startups in the region, Fenerbahçe and 1907 Fenerbahçe Association, one of Turkey’s leading sports clubs, have partnered with HYPE Sports Innovation, the world’s largest sports innovation platform, to jointly launch a special acceleration program for startups.

The Fenerbahce Sports Innovation Demo Day 2021 is seen as one of the major steps to further develop the sports innovation culture in Turkey.

Pilot application opportunity

Held at the Ülker Stadium’s Fenerbahçe Şükrü Saracoğlu Sports Complex this week, the program was attended by Fenerbahçe Secretary-General Burak Çağlan Kızılhan and 1907 Fenerbahçe Association Chairperson Rıfat Perahya in person as well as Hype Sports Innovation Chief Operating Officer (COO) Zvika Popper via video call.

Moderated by national basketball legend Sinan Güler, the acceleration program was closely followed by Fenerbahçe Sports Club board members and saw 10 local and foreign startups being evaluated.

Projects of Yasemin Ük from Uniqqene, Pawel Osterreicher from ReSpo Vision and Nadav Sofer from MixZone made the top three rankings and will be offered an opportunity to make pilot applications at the Turkish club.

Global step

Addressing the event, Kızılhan stressed that the program would provide an important opportunity for entrepreneurial candidates aiming to become global from day one to enter the rapidly developing sports tech sector.

“In Turkey, it is one of our biggest goals to be able to develop sports technologies with innovative perspectives, to support entrepreneurs looking to develop projects in this field, to guide our entrepreneurs in the most correct way and to implement these projects,” he noted.

“We had the opportunity to listen to the projects of 10 domestic and foreign startups offering innovative solutions in the field of sports from various sectors. Here we will offer the top three startups the opportunity to take advantage of the opportunities of Fenerbahçe Sports Club and to implement their projects as pilot applications.”

The investment in sports technology initiatives helps sports clubs communicate better with millions of their fans and participate in events, and paves the way for athletes to perform better. All this puts startups specializing in technologies that include data, analytics, fitness and biotechnology to the forefront.

Support for Turkish sports

Delivering a speech at the event, 1907 Fenerbahçe Association Chairperson Rıfat Perahya expressed the belief that Turkey, which he said is rapidly integrating into the world in all areas with its young population and dynamic structure, will be able to further advance in the field of sports only with strong institutional structures and strong cooperation.

“We are very proud to announce that the cooperation we have implemented from this point of view will provide service at the highest level to the [all of] Turkish sports with the participation of Fenerbahçe Sports Club,” he noted.

“The development of the project, which has come in first here, and its implementation with the acceptance of the relevant federations will provide a very important prestige on behalf of our country and our club.”

Program to yield important projects

For his part, HYPE Sports Innovation’s Zvika Popper said they were “honored” to have implemented such projects with two prestigious and powerful formations such as Fenerbahçe Sports Club and Fenerbahce 1907 Association.

“HYPE Sports Innovation is a global company that manages a network of 10 SPIN Accelerators programs around the world. In addition, the company organizes various events with sports federations and brands, providing them with the opportunity to meet and communicate with thousands of sports startups,” he said.

The company’s activities have enabled innovation investment and applications in various leading sports sectors of the world to gain momentum, Popper added.“I think that important projects will come out of this program that we are conducting in Turkey with Fenerbahçe Sports Club and 1907 Fenerbahçe Association, and with the right investments, this success story will be heard all over the world.”

The Future — Now
Fenerbahce and the 1907 Fenerbahce Association have now positioned themselves as leaders of the next wave of tech innovation. Through their pilots with MixZone, ReSpo Vision, and Uniqgene, they will be looking to set trends all other sports clubs will look to follow. Innovation in the fields of smart stadiums, athlete performance, and all levels of scouting will dramatically progress thanks to the involvement of this great club.