Southampton FC Scouts Sports Tech Startups for Yolo Group-Backed Future of Football Initiative

LONDON, England - January 4, 2023 - (Newswire.com)

Southampton FC, along with Sport Republic and Yolo Group are today launching The Future of Football challenge to find and support the next innovative sports tech startup. The Future of Football challenge is open to innovative companies ready to shape and test their solutions for updated football experiences in either the football development or fan engagement space.

Innovative 4-Week Program

In spirit with its values of innovation and doing things differently, Southampton FC will offer a 4-week virtual program — powered by Sport Republic and Yolo Group — to create opportunities and break away from conventional methods. The challenge welcomes Web3 and sports tech startups and scaleups with novel solutions to:

• Football development (scouting, training, recovery, game analytics, etc.) 
• Fan engagement (gamification, loyalty programs, matchday experiences, global fan engagement, etc.)  

£100k Development Prize 

Selected teams will rapidly test and pilot their solutions, participate in tailored workshops, and have regular and direct access to Southampton FC, Sport Republic, and Yolo Group decision-makers. At the St. Mary's finale, teams will pitch for a commercial relationship with SFC and a £100k discretionary prize pool for post-program solution development.

Sarah Batters, Director of Marketing and Partnerships at SFC stated that:

​​"Southampton FC's commitment to innovating and creating a positive impact is central to the way we operate and make decisions. We're excited to see programme participants create the future of football" 

London-Based Leaders Join Forces 

Sport Republic, the owner of Southampton Football Club is a London-based investment firm in the sports and entertainment industry. Founded by Henrik Kraft and Rasmus Ankersen and backed by Lead Investor Dragan Šolak, Sport Republic's vision is to grow high-potential sports businesses and sports tech companies. 

Henrik Kraft, Sport Republic and SFC Chairman stated that:

"Sport Republic are really looking forward to being part of the Future of Football challenge to power innovation in sports tech. We are continuously seeking the most innovative sport tech companies to join our portfolio and leveraging our clubs to drive growth and digital transformation." 

Yolo Group is the managing partner for the Future of Football challenge. The company is also London-based and is a leader in the cross-section of gaming, fintech, and blockchain, and operates the Sportsbet.io brand. Sportsbet.io is Southampton FC's Main Club Partner.

Tim Heath, GP at Yolo Investments and founder of Yolo Group stated: 

"This programme is designed to push boundaries, to bring together a spectrum of solutions from startups around the globe. It's a chance to create truly unique approaches — and test them. We're driven by innovation; so, we're looking forward to seeing the results," 

The application deadline is 23 February 2023. Find more information and apply here.

About Southampton Football Club

Southampton Football Club is a professional football club that plays in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Based in Hampshire, on England's south coast, the club plays its home games in the 32,000-capacity St Mary's Stadium, a stone's throw from St Mary's Church, where the club was formed in 1885. Nicknamed 'The Saints', the club's proudest moment came in 1976 when they beat Manchester United 1-0 in the FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium.

After a seven-year absence, the club returned to the Premier League in 2012 following successive promotions from League One and the Championship. Having been named one of the world's fastest-growing football club brands in 2015, the club went on to achieve its highest-ever Premier League finish of sixth in 2016 to secure European qualification for a second consecutive season.

Proud of its 137-year heritage, but constantly moving forward, the club is renowned for doing things differently and using its strong set of guiding principles to turn potential into excellence, both on and off the pitch.

About Yolo Group

Yolo Group brings next-level innovation to the worlds of gaming, fintech, blockchain and more. Serving millions of users worldwide, the Yolo Group is committed to putting the customer at the center of the universe via a wide range of fun, fast and fair products, and services, including the pioneering bitcoin-led casino Bitcasino.io and innovative sports betting site Sportsbet.io.

Number 26th on the 2022 EGR Power 50 list of leading global operators, the Group continues to drive crypto adoption and fintech innovation within both the iGaming and entertainment industry via its array of disruptive B2C and B2B brands.

With offices in Estonia, Malta, Ukraine, Brazil, Australia, and the Philippines, the Group has rapidly expanded to more than 900 employees of more than 60 nationalities. The Group continues to incubate and support new brands, developing its vast, expansive ecosystem of people, products, and services. Find out more at www.yolo.com  

Media Contact Details

Contact Name: Heidi Leid

Contact Email: [email protected]

Sportsbet is the source of this content. This Press Release is for informational purposes only. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest. 

Contact Information:
Heidi Leid
[email protected]


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Original Source: Southampton FC Scouts Sports Tech Startups for Yolo Group-Backed Future of Football Initiative