Shaping Football's Future: LaSource at the World Football Summit 2024
Another year and another successful edition of World Football Summit. This event has become one of the most bookmarked for us each calendar year because of its platform for the sporting ecosystem and the constant efforts made to scale and improve the offering each year and for everyone.
As partners of WFSEurope since 2020, we were completely engaged in playing the game, yet again, this year (instead of ‘watching from the sidelines’). From organising an innovative workshop with rightsholders to participating in a panel discussion, recognising the best sports tech startup, and creating value for our clients and partners, we delivered on our commitments. Here’s a brief recap of how we spent our time in Sevilla, and what we gathered.
Innovating in Football | Workshop:
In partnership with the World Football Summit and SportBoost, we hosted a closed-door workshop that brought together over 15 executives from clubs and organisations, including Boavista FC, DFL, and US Soccer. Our goal was to foster knowledge exchange and spark fresh ideas to tackle today’s most pressing challenges.
It was particularly interesting to discuss various challenges across ‘internal operations’, ‘performance’, ‘data’ and ‘digital transformation’. A key takeaway was the emphasis on people as the essence of any organisation, especially football clubs. Participants highlighted their preference to invest (in different ways) in their staff first, even when it comes to driving technological advancements.
Our team is currently compiling these valuable insights, and we look forward to sharing a comprehensive report with you in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!
Data-Driven Decisions: Leveraging AI for Sporting Success - Panel Discussion:
The topic of data in sports has gained significant prominence recently, to the point where "data-driven" has almost become a buzzword in the industry. But from our perspective, if a buzzword is what it takes to get sports organisations to focus on their data strategy, we’re all for it—especially when the entire ecosystem stands to benefit.
Our Chief Strategy Officer, Jean-Baptiste Alliot, joined a panel discussion alongside Mathieu Lille-Palette from Stats Perform, Johannes Spors from 777 Group, and moderator Andrew Squires-May from JVM to explore how artificial intelligence is transforming data-driven decision-making in sports.
One of the main objectives of this panel was to explain how “data is just a tool” at the service of various business needs and how the human aspect is of paramount importance. Indeed, sports organisations need to ensure they invest from the input on the tech stack (data lake) to their output regarding analytics and Business Intelligence insights. Nevertheless, to do so, you must ensure you internalise the right knowledge and expertise all across the data value chain. Once such foundations are in place, you can start looking at maximising the data capabilities through AI technologies.
Finally, one point that our partner reminded the audience of is the concept of “data debt”, and the competitive edge investing in data can bring to teams and rights holders – For those not investing correctly or waiting too long, it will undoubtedly be harder to catch up and try to compete with those investing resources, at an early stage.
Delivering for Our Partners and Clients:
This year’s World Football Summit stood out for us in a unique way—one of our own clients, GOAT, showcased its innovative technology to the global sports industry at WFSEurope. With nearly 150 participants experiencing the immersive augmented reality solution over two days, GOAT’s sports gaming platform was a definite hit and a standout feature at the exhibition centre.
GOAT, a Canadian sports tech company, offers an augmented reality-driven sports gaming solution that enables rightsholders to engage fans both remotely and in venue. What makes it truly fascinating is that while it captivates fans through immersive experiences, it also serves as a goldmine for fan data, revolutionising fan engagement strategies when rightsholders seek fresh ways to capture their audience's attention.
Speaking about his first experience at WFS Europe, Philippe Tremblay had this to say - “Showcasing GOAT's technology at the World Football Summit was a fantastic opportunity to connect with forward-thinking rightsholders who are eager to explore new ways to engage their fans. The enthusiasm for our augmented reality sports gaming platform was incredible, and it reaffirmed the value of immersive fan experiences that also provide deep insights through data. WFS was a great platform for us to foster meaningful conversations about the future of fan engagement”
Curious to learn more about GOAT? Get in touch with us or with Phil today for more information.
WFS Awards:
Since partnering with WFS in 2020, the WFS Awards have held a special place in our hearts. We've had the privilege of supporting numerous startups in scaling their businesses across Europe. As presenters of the Best Sports Tech Startup award, it’s been an honour to witness innovation firsthand—and an even greater honour to call past winners, like Slate and turfcoach, our clients.
At the heart of what makes sports tech startups stand out is their ability to solve real pain points in the industry, making them both valuable and impactful. This year, we had the pleasure of presenting the award to Camb.AI, a company revolutionising the sports and entertainment industry with its AI speech synthesis and translation technology.
With an impressive client roster that includes major media enterprises, sports leagues like the Australian Open and Major League Soccer, movie production companies, and top content creators, Camb.AI is transforming how stories, videos, and live streams are experienced—by making them accessible in any language.
Closing Note:
With fond memories, valuable connections, and a strong sense of satisfaction from delivering value to the ecosystem, it's safe to say that we had an enjoyable time at WFSEurope 2024. We're already looking forward to next year, where we’ll continue supporting leagues, clubs, federations, and startups in taking the lead. Stay tuned!