New technologies in sports: South Summit Madrid 2023 bets on Sportstech, with Pau Gasol, the NBA and Iker Casillas as protagonists

Sportstech

South Summit Madrid 2023, the leading event for the entrepreneurial and innovative ecosystem co-organised by IE University, will feature content and conversations dedicated to analysing the growing trend of Sportstech, i.e. the application of innovation and new technologies to the world of sport.

 The 11th edition of South Summit, to be held between the 7th and 9th of June at La Nave in Madrid, will be the place where athletes, managers, and heads of research of professional clubs will debate the challenges and advances in sports technology.

Among the main speakers of this new track is Pau Gasol, world champion with the Spanish national basketball team, Olympic medallist, and two-time NBA winner. In addition to his renowned sporting career, Gasol has also established himself as a leading investor and advisor for projects related to sports and wellness.

Gasol will not be the only Spanish sports legend to speak about innovation and technology in professional sports. Iker Casillas, world champion with the Spanish national football team and three-time European champion with Real Madrid, will also participate. Casillas will attend as founder of SportBoost, an accelerator of startups linked to the world of sport and with which he has just launched the Meet LaLiga programme together with LaLiga, whose objective is to explore Artificial Intelligence models applicable to sport and contribute to the improvement of the sports industry.

Other speakers specialising in innovation for sport include Jon Bartlett, Director of Performance, Research and Innovation at the NBA; Jeff Luhnow, President of SportsTek Acquisition and of several clubs such as Club Deportivo Leganés and Cancún FC; Débora Saldanha, Director of Innovation at Clube Atlético Mineiro of the Brazilian Serie A; Gustavo Arellano, Director of Business Development at FIBA; and Adrián Galea, Financial Vice President of BITKRAFT Ventures.

The latest trends in sport, at South Summit Madrid 2023

With the aim of encouraging debates on challenges and advances in technology applied to sport, the latest innovations to improve the health and performance of athletes will be discussed, such as advances in cardiology, biometrics, IoT, and wearables for the prevention of injuries or deaths of professional athletes.

At South Summit Madrid 2023 there will also be space for conversations and content on the digitalisation of sport, such as the use of data for better club management, better knowledge of the fan through Big Data, the tokenisation of club and player rights, and assets, or the application of Blockchain for transfers and ticket sales.

Finally, the business and sports management of professional clubs and federations will also have great relevance within the contents of the Sportstech track. Thus, the keys to the leadership of presidents, coaches, and professional players will be presented, as well as advances in diversity and inclusion in sport and the main investors who are driving digitalisation in this sector.