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Storytelling needs to inform technology in sports broadcasting not the other way around: SVG India Summit 2025

MUMBAI: Storytelling needs to inform technology in sports broadcasting not the other way around. This was one of the points made during a panel discussion at the SVG India Summit 2025. The session was called ‘Game Changers: Understanding the Top Five Global Tech Trends’ 2025 will continue to see five key technology trends influence the […]

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MUMBAI: Storytelling needs to inform technology in sports broadcasting not the other way around. This was one of the points made during a panel discussion at the SVG India Summit 2025.

The session was called ‘Game Changers: Understanding the Top Five Global Tech Trends’

2025 will continue to see five key technology trends influence the way sports content is produced and delivered: IP; Generative AI; the Cloud; Extended Reality and AR; and Social Media. Leaders from the U.S. and India took to the stage to debate and discuss why they are important and what they mean to anr organisation.

The Moderator was:

Ken Kerschbaumer, SVG, Co-Executive Director, Editorial

The Panellists were:

Mike Davies, Fox Sports, EVP, Technical and Field Operations; SVG U.S. Chairman

Paul Devlin, Amazon Web Services, Global Strategy Leader, Betting, Gaming & Sports Technology

Rajat Nigam, Network18 Media, Group CTO

Alessandro Reitano, Sky Deutschland, SVP, Sports Production; SVG Europe, Chairman

Nigam noted that, sports production he sees as a high-intensity reality television wherein the storytelling has to be done in an unrestricted fashion and more so impactfully and instantaneously. And that brings in the challenges and the opportunities as well. “So, the five trends, what you mentioned, everything revolves around it’s insightful, it’s immersive, it’s impactful, it’s intelligence.

“And when we are talking of since I come from Indian industry, the fifth line would be Indian, Indian-ness. Because Indian consumer is highly emotional. we need to create content which connects with the consumers.

“And that makes the softer part of the creativity comes and takes over the technology. So, that’s an important ask. And everything we do has to be multi-fold. So, pluralism is the principle. The multitude of events, the tiering, the multitude fragments of consumers, the multiple platforms.” He gave the example of needing to enhance and make the content available even in an MRI machine. While the patient is inside for 12 to 15 minutes, he should have some content to get them engaged. Similarly, FM radio, the DRM, the company uses the FM radio channel for putting in sports data while the other content continues.

“So, these are the opportunities wherein we need to look at. And with more and more data available, more and more efficient algorithms which are coming up in the name of AI, we need to apply that and convert it into content which engages.”

The moderator agreed about the soft side of production. “He’s right. Because this is the mark of a really just an intelligent way to approach it is that storytelling needs to inform technology, not the other way around. And that too often an AI is a huge problem and a solution.”

A Flexible Ecosystem: Reitano was asked about trends that make the technology better, the trends in budgets, which obviously is a constant battle of getting enough budget in order to do things the way you want to do them. And third is the consumer trends that are shaping, driving operations at Sky Deutschland. Reitano noted that it’s different from a European perspective, it’s a different landscape. “This is a very saturated market. Obviously, we have to work in a different way.

“For us, it means tech trends is how we become super-efficient. So that means at the end of the day, our key principle, if you can automate things, you have to automate. We have our key events. But after that, we have a really, really close look at what can we automate in the content processing to cater every, let’s say, audience group we have to cater. And there’s a ton of platforms. There’s not only one linear channel.

“There’s OTT, there’s TikTok, there’s Facebook, there’s everything. And I think to get the thing done, you have to build an ecosystem which is possible to, let’s say, start from your localisation on site and get multiple outputs at the same time. So – and I see this as the most trending part. Whatever sits in the ecosystem will give us the ability to produce more content to the same amount of people. I’m not talking about less, the same amount of people. But we have to increase, let’s say, the content volume. It’s very simple. We run consultation. We run a 24-news channel on sports. And we have all the outputs, let’s say, which we have to deliver. And that’s why you have a very flexible ecosystem in place. And I think this is a trend.” For him its is important to be both flexible and scalable and adaptable what’s coming up next.

The Sky Advantage: He was asked that given the other entities within Sky across Europe if that gives him more buying power to get scalability more cost-effective? His reply was absolutely. “At the end of the day, what we share, is all worth it in the entire industry.” In terms of what is next he noted that if it comes to live operation, scalability, his company is working with Sky as a Sky on a Sky group platform. “I mean, we’re producing 25,000, 30,000 hours on linear channels, but the same amount of hours on our so-called bonus streams.

“And this sits entirely in the cloud. And this is based and leveraged by, let’s say, us, Sky Italia, Sky Austria, all the group affiliates at Sky. And it’s driven by Sky UK. So, we leverage the entire platform, which helps us to produce more content, everything cloud-based, data-driven. It is, for us, really important because we’re bypassing, let’s say, our production center and deliver, let’s say, more content for our customers. And this is, at the end of the day, this is everything what counts.

Learning From The US: He admitted that he admires US broadcasting because it always starts with entertainment and then comes to sports. It’s not the other way around. “Sometimes in Europe, we’re discussing too much, very serious about sports, and forget about the entertainment sector. And if you look into the demographics, what you see in front of you, they love entertainment, by the way. And sports is not only life.

“You have to wake up with sports. You go to bed with sports. In between, there’s tons of stories to tell. And this is, I think, one of those challenges for us as storytellers and production companies and services, how to cater everything. And this is all about the scalability. Yes, whenever you can leverage as a group, you have to leverage.”

Player Tracking’s Role In Storytelling: Devlin noted that his background pre-AWS was in high-performance sport. And so a lot of that involved player track. “Definitely a trend I’ve seen over the last probably ten years in high-performance, the last five years, all over the world, is that of player tracking. Trust me, from a performance side, it’s really important athletes perform, or you get fired, or that they don’t get injured.

“But we try our best to mitigate them getting injured. So there’s an awful lot of detail that goes into the analysis of that player tracking data and its impact on performance. A sub-segment of that is incredibly, incredibly valuable for storytelling.”

He shed light on how Bundesliga match facts are created. There are three million data points per game, and that is between 16 and 22 cameras in the stadium tracking the athletes ten times per second. That tracks them physically and tells you what they did, but it doesn’t tell you why they did it.

“It doesn’t tell you why a player sprinted up the sideline. What we then do is take the match event data, passes, shots, headers, free kicks, fouls, and we sync those two data sets together. And then quite simply use machine learning to ask questions that fans want answers to.

“So if you think about that particular match insight passing profile, before machine learning and player tracking and syncing of the two data sets, a good passer of the ball was a player who completed the most passes. That might be short passes, of two, three meters, continually over the game.That doesn’t help a fan understand the game at a deeper level.

“A good insight into the objective outcomes here was that the Bundesliga did a fan survey to check are these insights landing? Because at the end of the day, they’re an experiment, they’re what we call arms on a two-way door decision. And they found that 97% of their fans found it insightful and added value to them, which is a nice number.

“But for me, a really important number was that 90% of the fans surveyed said it helped them to better understand the game. What we’re doing and what we’re putting on screen helps fans to understand. The job of a striker is to put the ball in the goal. It’s very hard to do that. You would think you’re back to goal.

“Yet the striker is most effective there. A third of the time, 34% of his passes are actually back towards his own goal, which allows the shot to go and go. Previously, that depth of analysis and therefore storytelling in the broadcast just wasn’t possible.”

He said the same holds true for tennis, the NFL, cricket. “Tracking data, contextualised to enhance the storytelling for fan engagement.”

Working Backwards From Fans: He noted that a sports organisation must focus on working backwards from fans. That doesn’t always mean you get it right. And the spirit of experimentation is critical to that.

He gave the example of the F1 app. “What questions could we answer for fans? I think Formula 1, in particular, do an incredible job of this. When you look at the Formula 1 and the amount of insights that they generate.” He said that his oldest daughter is 18 now. She watched ‘Try To Survive’ and then downloaded the F1 app and enableed notifications.

She doesn’t watch F1 but knew that due to notifications that Lando Norris was not doing well. “And she was telling me about how Lando was struggling in comparison to Kimi Antonelli. And told me all about what was going on in Formula 1. Now, she’s never actually watched the full Formula 1 race. But she’s also not in that category where everyone says, oh, they only watch highlights. She doesn’t watch highlights either. She’s just reading the notifications and she watches the documentary. So, we think about the engagement for her as a fan.

“What she wants to know is a bit of the entertainment, a bit of the gossip, a bit of what’s going on. But she’s a fan at 18 years of age. Again, there’s different ways to engage. But you have to work backwards from the fact that they do use Amazon Personalise. Which is a machine learning tool that learns what the fan wants from the notification and pushes them the content that they want. Clearly, in that case, it’s working pretty well.”

Real-time Data Analysation And Visualisation Is The Future: Reitano was asked how the technology, the speed of the ability to use these systems, impacting, just making it better storytelling? He noted that

in his case it is offering xustomers a so-called technical feed. “It’s a dedicated feed next to our primary broadcast. You can watch really from a tactical perspective. So for all the tactical freaks, you have all the data coming in. And let’s say two years ago, it took us, let’s say, a minute for the turnaround to get the data visualized.

“Now we are, let’s say, up to 20 seconds. At the end of the day, you want to have real-time data analyzation and visualisation. Then you can predict things in your own language, what you want to predict. And I think this is, at the end of the day, this is from our perspective than the future. Not only by saying, okay, fans, you have a really tactical feed, but you can predict things by your own if you play around with data. So always what if, what if the striker would, let’s say, run 10K faster? I don’t know.

“Or he would left foot instead of a right foot. Then you would have all the prediction data coming in. But you want to predict it. But therefore, you need live-life visualization. That’s the really key. And that’s the thing what we’re working on.” The key is to make sure there is live data visualised instantly. “And then you call it up from your preference what you want to tell your customers. And that is your own dedicated story because it’s more than a simple storytelling, which position should be the striker in, in the box, out of the box, left foot, right foot.

“Then you can predict things. And I think this is where we want to head in the next couple of, the next season on because we have all the live-life data. And you told us there’s 3 million data points. it’s a lot of things coming into something. And then you have to visualize it. And you have to tell a story.

“And that’s why AI comes into to help us to make it better also for the storytellers.”

Devlin noted that this is a really good point. “All of these sports have been collecting data for such a long period now. It’s creating historical archives. So, as you mentioned, stats have been collecting data for a long time now.

All of the major football codes, same in cricket. There’s a ton of data there. And therefore, we’re seeing a trend of creating graphics out of that that help engage fans like we talked about.

“I think there is an exciting opportunity in the present but also the near future to enable fans to be able to do that should they wish. So, yeah, it might not be for everybody. It might not be in a major broadcast. But the ability for fans through second screen or even post-match to be able to dive into that data and then visualise it with natural language query, I think that’s an exciting development.”

AI Can Be An Issue: Davies noted that now you’re getting a lot of solutions looking for a problem, with AI crap. But just because you can use AI doesn’t mean you should. “So, my trend is it’s the tale of two worlds. It’s the tale of the flagship at the summit, the flagship shows, your cricket, your Bundesliga, my NFL.

“And those are the ones that we’re throwing money at. We’re throwing money at because we’re trying to increase the spectacle. The spectacle, these resource hunger shows and we’re putting more and more money in it. We’re not so much on the efficiency side on that. But in the mid-tier events, that’s where you’re really going to see where can we get a similar product or very much the same product using some very, you know, innovative ways.

“Now maybe you’re talking about automation, maybe you’re talking about remote technology, maybe you’re talking about all of the things that make production more efficient. And in some ways, the mid-tier productions, if you squint, is subsidising the top tiers. So you’re following the eyes.”

Nigam agreed saying that there is a need to create different levels of production.

“So the high or for the premium events, we deploy different sort of production techniques, which would entail more number of resources, more number of expenses as well. There would be certain events, or even the lower tiering of the same event, wherein we could use technology to optimise, to bring in automation, wherein the cost of production becomes low, as well as the number of resources and the dependency goes low. So the fragmentation is the key, wherein lot and lot of opportunities are there.

“How do you stitch that together? The pie remains constant. We have to allocate that pie to bring the value very quickly.”

Lower-end technology has become very capable: One trend pointed out in terms of technology is the lower-end technology is so capable now. Viacom 18 used iPhones at the Olympics last year. There are also automated camera systems. One can do very cost-effective shows with almost little compromise in terms of the overall production value. Davies noted that sometimes today’s efficiency technology becomes tomorrow’s enhancement technology and sometimes vice versa.

“So I think that we’re not necessarily interested in putting too much remotely or putting too much on automation on the flagship shows. But what you find is that sometimes that technology can have other uses. You think about, well, can this type of technology do auto-framing on a pylon camera? Now that might be a very small thing.

“I told you a hundred cameras. Maybe it doesn’t make air. It’s just what your risk tolerance is on that particular thing. And can you actually ascribe some improvement by using those things?”

Reitano noted that the good thing is on technology, and this is very helpful because it feeds also, let’s say, the customer you can produce more content on the lower end. “And you have to consider that there are tons of content out there. They were invisible the last couple of years because it was too expensive to produce them. And now you are capable, let’s say, halving with, let’s say, one camera, automating stitching, whatsoever. And you’re producing tons of more content and feeding, let’s say, the customer’s needs. So it gives us, if you accept the compromises, I think this is sometimes very, let’s say, hard to understandable for sea level.

“Because they are measuring whatever comes on Sky platform needs to be top-notch. And now you’re starting to compromise and producing more lower tiers.” He gave an example of in Mumbai an under-17 match-up taking place. And there were a problem with encoding and decoding. nd this is how you want to educate. How you educate your customer on different platforms. Because there is and must be a compromise.

“You can’t have resiliency and reliability on 100% if you’re having a fully automated camera system, which is cloud and IP only. So you have to find a compromise. But this is an education curve.

“You’re offering more content for your customers. On the same side, you’re lowering your production cost, which is part of your ecosystem. And then you have to find, let’s say, a good conversation with your customer base because they’re not paying more for that.

“This is absolutely a deal. We’re offering incremental services free of charge. But this is happening because customers are reacting. (24:12) They don’t care what they see. At the moment, if the Sky-corner bug is up, they’re expecting premium quality.”

Nigam was asked about 9×16 productions where one is actually using automated camera. Noigam said that those are the opportunities. “Yes, we do that. And I would pick the line that you mentioned earlier. You used an adjective along with artificial intelligence. So somehow that remains an elephant and somehow all of us tend to get obsessed by that.

“Fortunately or unfortunately, this has been there. AI is nothing but automation. And this has been there or various levels of automation has been there for many, many years. And all of us deploy those automations with respect to the live productions that we do.

“What the consumer requires is a plain, simple, good storytelling about that particular event. Like for cricket, the live event happens with seven cameras. The story gets completed in seven cameras wherein we tend to use more than 30 cameras. Now, how well the additional 25 or 30 cameras have to be used, that’s an option.

“The story gets completed in those seven cameras. And again, at the end of the day, the consumer is not bothered what is that being used at the back end. What it means is, for example, I would pick in this IPL, we have been doing a lot of different things. Each IPL match is getting produced in 25 different streams, getting distributed in more than 70 different ways, etc., etc. (26:08) But what it has caught the eye of the consumer is one physical feature which we call it as Champak. So, Champak, which is not an artificial intelligence thing.

“It’s a physical, physical technology product which has caught the eye of the consumer. So, that’s something innovation we need to bring in.

Just because we want to deploy artificial intelligence, that does not mean everything will get enhanced. We need to capture the spirit of the consumer, certainly keep them excited, keep them engaged. But then, there are ways to do it.”



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8th Edition of TECHgium® Showcases Engineering Excellence and Bold Innovations

Home » General » 8th Edition of TECHgium® Showcases Engineering Excellence and Bold Innovations Business Wire India   With Record-Breaking Participation, the 8th Edition Showcases Innovative Solutions in Mobility, Sustainability, and Tech while Strengthening Industry-Academia Collaboration  The winners of this year’s competition were awarded prizes totaling more than INR 19 lakhs TECHgium®, India’s largest innovation […]

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Business Wire India
 

  • With Record-Breaking Participation, the 8th Edition Showcases Innovative Solutions in Mobility, Sustainability, and Tech while Strengthening Industry-Academia Collaboration 
  • The winners of this year’s competition were awarded prizes totaling more than INR 19 lakhs

TECHgium®, India’s largest innovation platform for engineering students, hosted by L&T Technology Services Limited (BSE: 540115, NSE: LTTS), marked the remarkable conclusion of its eighth edition on Friday.
 
Celebrating groundbreaking engineering talent, this year’s event broke records with over 39,000 registrations from over 560 engineering institutes across India, a nearly six-fold growth since its inception in 2016. With new innovations in Mobility Sustainability, and Tech segments, TECHgium® has solidified its role as both a hub for innovation and a bridge between academia and industry.
 
Graced by the presence of Prof. Dr. T. G. Sitharam, Chairman of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), as Chief Guest, and Shri Vikas Purohit, CEO of New Business Ventures at Bennett, Coleman & Co., Ltd., as Guest of Honor, the event showcased an exhilarating blend of technical ingenuity and real-world problem-solving. Both guests emphasized the critical need to cultivate innovation for shaping the future of engineering and sustaining global competitiveness.
 
Since its launch, TECHgium® has focused on nurturing future-ready engineering talent through immersive exposure to cutting-edge challenges and industry collaboration. The 8th Edition’s finalists demonstrated unmatched creativity and practical impact through efficiency improvement, sustainability integration, and advanced AI-driven solutions. Finalists also earned the opportunity to engage with industry leaders and academicians to present their ideas on a prominent platform like TECHgium®. Combined, the winners took home prizes totaling more than INR 19 lakhs.
 
Details:
 

  1. Winners: Team from Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College, Coimbatore, for their revolutionary project on a Mini-Propelled Underwater Autonomous Robot.
  2. Runner-up: Students from Fr. C. Rodrigues Institute of Technology, Navi Mumbai, for their project, WindGrid AI: Intelligent Site Selection for Efficient Wind Power Generation.
  3. Second Runner-up: Students from B V Raju Institute of Technology, Telangana, for their project on Enhanced Battery Management Using Digital Twin Technology.
  4. Special Jury Prize: Team from Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Erode, for their project on AI-powered Video Moderation.

These stellar advancements spanned applications like AI-powered energy management, autonomous inspection technology, precision healthcare solutions, blockchain-based e-waste tracking, and robotic hexapod for wind turbine screw tightening. Their work reflects a new standard of applied engineering excellence and industry relevance.
 
Over nine rigorous months, participants collaborated closely with LTTS’ technical and subject matter experts, undergoing ideation sessions to develop PoC, which tackle industry-specific challenges. From an initial pool of over 4,600 concepts, 36 exceptional teams advanced to the grand finale, where their prototypes were evaluated by a distinguished panel of industry leaders, academicians, and analysts.
 
Prof. Dr. T. G. Sitharam, Chief Guest and Chairman of AICTE, lauded LTTS’ role in nurturing the next generation of talented students, stating, “The evolution of TECHgium® has been impressive. The passion and ingenuity displayed by young engineers at this year’s TECHgium® are a testament to India’s growing leadership in technological advancements. Bridging the gap between academia and industry is vital, and platforms like these serve as the bedrock for fostering innovation that addresses real-world demands.”
 
Shri Vikas Purohit, Guest of Honor and CEO of New Business Ventures at Bennett, Coleman & Co., Ltd., remarked, “TECHgium® showcases the immense potential of India’s engineering talent. By pairing bright minds with insightful mentorship, initiatives like this inspire bold solutions to some of our era’s greatest challenges. LTTS has set a benchmark in cultivating a culture of excellence.”
 
Abhishek Sinha, Executive Director & President – Medical, Smart World & Functions, L&T Technology Services, highlighted, “At LTTS, innovation is not just a process but a purpose. Through TECHgium® which has evolved to become India’s largest ER&D focused hackathon we empower the brightest young minds to confront complex engineering challenges with creativity and precision. This year’s record-breaking participation reinforces our commitment to driving impactful industry-academia collaboration.”
 
Over the years, student presentations at TECHgium® have evolved from merely discussing ideas to showcasing practical products. TECHgium® now enables students to present end-to-end product designs, seamlessly integrating both software and hardware components.8th Edition of TECHgium® Showcases Engineering Excellence and Bold Innovations





8th Edition of TECHgium® Showcases Engineering Excellence and Bold Innovations





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Huawei Unveils New Wearables Line-Up in Berlin, Ushering in a New Era of Wearable Technology

Huawei Unveils New Wearables Line-Up in Berlin, Ushering in a New Era of Wearable Technology Accessibility Statement Skip Navigation The all-new HUAWEI WATCH 5 introduces groundbreaking innovations that revolutionise intelligent interaction capabilities. Featuring the milestone enhancement of HUAWEI TruSense System, the smartwatch integrates a new Multi-sensing X-TAP Technology, powered by Distributed Sensor Module. This advanced […]

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Huawei Unveils New Wearables Line-Up in Berlin, Ushering in a New Era of Wearable Technology


















Accessibility Statement
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The all-new HUAWEI WATCH 5 introduces groundbreaking innovations that revolutionise intelligent interaction capabilities. Featuring the milestone enhancement of HUAWEI TruSense System, the smartwatch integrates a new Multi-sensing X-TAP Technology, powered by Distributed Sensor Module. This advanced setup enables users to perform health monitoring effortlessly via fingertip measurements, ensuring more accurate, faster, and comprehensive health insights. Additionally, gesture control has been enhanced to support “Double Slide” and “Double Tap” gestures, providing users with intuitive interaction options. HUAWEI WATCH 5 debuts exclusive colours, Purple and Sand Gold, reflecting distinctively sophisticated style.

HUAWEI WATCH 5 reshapes wearables, signalling a new future of superior health monitoring and smarter experiences for global consumers.

New Flagship Products Unveiled: A Fusion of Technology and Aesthetics

Alongside the HUAWEI WATCH 5, several other flagship products made their debut including the HUAWEI WATCH FIT 4 Series, HUAWEI FreeBuds 6, and the HUAWEI MatePad Pro 12.2-inch.

HUAWEI WATCH FIT 4 Series stays true to its signature square design while advocating the ‘Fashion Active’ philosophy – an energetic, health-conscious lifestyle that empowers users to move confidently and live actively. Featuring an ultra-slim and lightweight comfort, the HUAWEI WATCH FIT 4 Pro reaches a thinness of 9.3 mm. HUAWEI WATCH FIT 4 Pro further supports pro-level outdoor sports such as professional trail running, dive-depth of up to 40-meters, and golf course mode, enhanced by the HUAWEI TruSense System for a comprehensive and smarter health management experience.

HUAWEI FreeBuds 6 represent the industry’s HUAWEI first Open-Fit Earbuds featuring dual-magnetic driver units and supporting lossless audio transmission at 2.3Mbps. Complete with Stable & Clear Calls Noise Cancellation technology and a refined sleek droplet design, the earbuds provide a seamless and immersive audio experience.

HUAWEI MatePad Pro 12.2-inch 2025 incorporates an innovative Tandem OLED PaperMatte Display, significantly boosting screen brightness and enhancing anti-glare and anti-reflection capabilities. Coupled with the Huawei Glide Keyboard and an upgraded HUAWEI Notes application, the HUAWEI MatePad Pro 12.2-inch 2025 brings productivity to new heights.

Active Rings: Inspiring A New Way To Enjoy Every Moment of Active Living

In response to the growing global interest in fitness, Huawei has evolved its “Light Up Your Rings” campaign into “Active Rings”, built around the philosophy of “Enjoy Your Moment”. With more than 100 sport modes available in Huawei wearable devices, Huawei empowers users of all ages and fitness levels to stay active and embrace health in ways that suit their lifestyle.

According to IDC’s latest report, Huawei ranked first globally in wearable device shipment YOY growth rate in 2024 and has maintained the top position in China’s market share for six consecutive years. Huawei Wearables continue to set trends in health-conscious and fashionable lifestyles, becoming an iconic symbol of personal style worldwide.

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Future of Sport Lab names 10 new startups to accelerator program

By Canadian Press on May 15, 2025. TORONTO — Artificial intelligence is here to stay, at least in the world of sport tech, according to one industry expert. The Future of Sports Lab announced the selection of 10 innovative startups for its incubator program on Thursday. Cheri Bradish, an associate professor at Toronto Metropolitan University […]

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By Canadian Press on May 15, 2025.

TORONTO — Artificial intelligence is here to stay, at least in the world of sport tech, according to one industry expert.

The Future of Sports Lab announced the selection of 10 innovative startups for its incubator program on Thursday. Cheri Bradish, an associate professor at Toronto Metropolitan University who is the founder and managing director of the school’s sport tech accelerator, said more applications to the program involved AI than any other round of pitches in its 10-year history.

“It’s ubiquitous in the sense that it’s everywhere, and we are now determining how we can best utilize it in a tech sense, and other kind of layers, throughout business units, throughout the sport tech industry,” said Bradish in a phone interview on Thursday. “I think it’s going to be an art and a science because there’s so much human element that’s relied upon in sport, both on the business and performance side.

“But I think to make better predictions on some of the recovery technologies we’re looking at, it’s obviously playing the lead role.”

Three of the 10 startups who have partnered with the Future of Sport Lab have AI as part of their business plan.

Calgary’s HooperIQ is the first AI-powered basketball IQ training platform, helping athletes master decision-making through personalized quizzes, film analysis and automated game breakdowns.

Elev8 & Perform of Markham, Ont., is wearable technology that boosts cardiovascular health, accelerates recovery, and enhances performance using quantum nano biomaterials and AI-powered smart imaging and analytics.

Lubu Technologies, based in Los Angeles, is developing AI-powered smart insoles that transform any shoe into a gait lab, helping athletes prevent injuries, optimize performance, and refine technique.

Bradish noted that this year’s class also includes startups led by people with a background in sports.

“Each cohort is a special class that defines itself in certain ways,” she said. “What we have in this group, which we’re excited about, is a number of high-performance athletes.

“We have leaned into embracing a culture of supporting athlete entrepreneurs. That is something that we are excited about, and I think it also definitely brings some really unique skills and competencies and assets to the group.”

Toronto’s CoachThem, a digital coaching platform created by former NHL players Mike Weaver and Robb Tallas, streamlines practice planning with intuitive tools that drive player development and coaching efficiency.

Iron Lady Golf, also from Toronto, was founded by PGA professional Lindsay Knowlton. It seeks to create an empowering community for women with over 30,000 participants reached through inclusive, confidence-building golf experiences.

Ottawa’s MOMentum was founded by Olympians and Paralympians and supports elite athlete mothers with financial grants, advocacy, and community resources to ensure family planning is never a barrier to success in sport.

All of the startups are at different stages of development but are expected to take strides over the Future of Sport Lab’s eight to 12 week curriculum.

“We’d like to help them accelerate the growth of their business,” said Bradish. “Some we know are already out there, either raising capital or building new partnerships on that customer journey.

“That’s the kind of curve. We like to come in and help them accelerate their business.”

Coordle, from Baltimore, is transforming group travel and sports tourism, by offering a centralized platform that connects teams and participants with local businesses.

Toronto’s FanMore is a loyalty and rewards platform helping teams engage the untapped 90 per cent of fans not in stadiums, creating new revenue streams for sponsors and organizations.

Shake, from Washington, D.C., is a free-to-play platform delivering fan experiences through sports and entertainment event aggregation.

The Playbook, out of Minneapolis, is an award-winning mental health platform for athletes and teams that tracks stress, well-being, and resilience, providing actionable plans for athlete wellness.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 15, 2025.

John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press

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HELLO AGAIN WORLD – Press Conference for World Winter Sports Expo Held in Beijing

BEIJING, May 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — On May 15, 2025, the press conference for the World Winter Sports Expo (WWSE) was held in Shijingshan District, Beijing. Under the theme “Hello Again World”, this event marks the beginning of a new decade for the globally renowned expo, which has become a cornerstone of the winter sports […]

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BEIJING, May 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — On May 15, 2025, the press conference for the World Winter Sports Expo (WWSE) was held in Shijingshan District, Beijing. Under the theme “Hello Again World”, this event marks the beginning of a new decade for the globally renowned expo, which has become a cornerstone of the winter sports industry. The press conference was attended by government officials, diplomats from leading winter sports nations in China, representatives from relevant industry departments, hosts, industry leaders, and nearly a hundred media representatives from both domestic and international outlets.

Deepening Ice and Snow Cooperation, Shaping a New Future for Economy

At the press conference, Zhang Shengjun, Member of the Leading Party Members Group and Vice Mayor of Shijingshan District, delivered the opening remarks. He expressed that since the inception of the WWSE, Shijingshan has collaborated closely with it to shape a promising future for the ice and snow industry. This nearly decade-long partnership highlights the district’s strategic role in the ice and snow economy and reflects the strong bond between both parties. This year, with the tenth WWSE being held once again in Shijingshan, it not only brings new opportunities for the local ice and snow industry but also injects fresh vitality into the district’s ice and snow development initiatives.

Looking ahead, Shijingshan will further deepen its collaboration with the WWSE to drive the development of the ice and snow industry. It will intensify efforts to attract investment, drawing more renowned domestic and international ice and snow enterprises to establish a presence here. It will continue to enhance the construction of ice and snow facilities, improve services, and strengthen the industry chain, so as to create a comprehensive ice and snow industry ecosystem that integrates sports, tourism, culture, and technology.

A Decade of Dedication: Paving a New Path for International Cooperation and Industrial Prosperity

Ms. Zhang Li, Co-President of Asia Digital Group, opened by reflecting on the ten-year journey of the WWSE. She emphasized that hosting the WWSE aligns with Beijing’s commitment to the international community made during its bid for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. Since its inception in 2016, the WWSE has become a benchmark platform for the global ice and snow industry. Over the past nine years, it has grown into the world’s leading winter sports expo, with its scale expanding dramatically. The previous versions attracted participation from prominent international winter sports organizations, including the International Olympic Committee, the International Biathlon Union, the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation, and government bodies and industry groups from over 30 countries and regions, such as Finland, Austria and Switzerland. It covers the entire ice and snow industry chain, from equipment and technological innovations to the integration of culture and tourism. With an internationalization rate of 68%, it has solidified its position as a key hub for global winter sports resource connections. The WWSE has provided a vital platform for the industry’s growth and facilitated more than 200 projects under international cooperation, driving the global expansion of winter sports and industry upgrades. It has become an essential showcase for the vitality of China’s economy and a testament to international collaboration.

Over the past decade of the WWSE, the global winter-related industry has undergone a structural transformation, with notable growth in market scale and participation. While Europe and North America continue to dominate the industry, the Asian market has been leading in growth. In China, the sector has surged from 270 billion yuan in 2015 to an estimated 1 trillion yuan by 2025, with its global market share rising from 3% to 15%. On the participation front, global ski visits reached 350 million during the 2021-2022 ski season. Driven by the national strategy to “engage 300 million people in winter sports”, China has become a key driver of global growth. With the dual push of technological advancements and policy support, the legacy of the Olympic Winter Games continues to unfold, enabling a deep transformation of China’s winter sports industry. The sector is shifting from expansion in scale to technological self-reliance and event commercialization.

“HELLO AGAIN WORLD”. Building on a decade of experience, the WWSE has established an international platform for cooperation within the global ice and snow industry. This initiative facilitates the cross-border flow of technology, capital, and resources, underscoring China’s deepening integration of its relative economy into the global supply chain. As the WWSE moves forward, it drives industry evolution and upgrade through innovation, illustrating China’s strategic shift from scale expansion to high-quality development. Furthermore, it supports the global ice and snow economy in accelerating its transformation towards low-carbon, intelligent, and inclusive growth.

Three Highlights Expanding Global Industries, Ice and Snow Platform Connecting a Diverse Ecosystem

The press conference also offered a detailed overview of the preparations for this WWSE. Ms. Zhang noted that, marking its tenth anniversary, the WWSE will showcase three highlights: internationalization, industrialization, and pioneering. A wide array of activities will be presented, including exhibitions, forums, business match-making, and carnival.

In terms of internationalization, it will welcome deep participation from major winter sports powers such as Austria, Japan, and Germany to bring together top global companies and brands. It is expected to attract numerous industry organizations and leading enterprises from winter sports powers, with international participation projected to exceed 60%. Forum sessions will also feature international officials, government representatives from winter sports powers, executives from global winter sports brands, and industry experts, all working together to advance global exchange and cooperation in the ice and snow industry. Meanwhile, the WWSE will roll out programs such as the Global Cities Partnership Program, the Program of “China’s Ice and Snow Welcomes the World”, and the Exclave Program, aimed at enhancing exchanges between China and the world, while linking domestic and international networks.

The WWSE will continue to drive industrial growth by offering one-stop ice and snow solutions through its forum-driven industry approach. The forums will focus on a range of topics, including winter sports, culture, equipment, and tourism, discussing trends and innovative pathways for the sector. Specific sessions will address the integration of culture with tourism, the rise of the winter-featured cities and the new economy, the innovative development of winter sports equipment, and the outdoor and mountain industries. Specialized discussions will also cover topics such as the global expansion of outdoor brands, the development of talent in winter sports and events, and the operation of ski resorts. In addition, entrepreneurship competitions, brand-focused meetings, and a series of closed-door discussions will be held. A key feature of the event will be the resource procurement matchmaking session, which will connect ski resorts and skating rinks of all sizes with suppliers, while also promoting collaborations with winter tourism clubs and travel routes. The industrial matchmaking event will focus on facilitating partnerships between government bodies and partner companies of the WWSE, as well as supporting the implementation of various projects, offering full-cycle customized services, and inviting procurement teams to participate. To mark its tenth anniversary, the WWSE will also host a series of awards recognizing the most innovative brands in global manufacturing services, popular clubs (including skiing, ice skating, and ice hockey), leading winter tourism destinations in China, successful winter sports marketing campaigns, the most competitive startups, medium and small-sized ski resorts of high quality, and top global personal equipment brands. These awards aim to highlight the most influential figures in the industry, set benchmarks, and shape the future of the sector.

This WWSE has introduced a series of unique and exciting initiatives to drive mass participation in winter sports activities, furthering the success of the “300 million people engaged in winter sports” campaign. Notable highlights include the Winter Sports Carnival, which takes place in the form of a main venue and nationwide touring sub-venues, and features a range of immersive experiences such as limited-time figure skating performances, paid ice skating sessions, and indoor land surfing on skating rinks. These activities allow audiences to experience the elegance and passion of winter sports up close. The “Fun Shopping for Winter Sports” series can invigorate the consumer market by offering a one-stop shopping experience, combining both online and offline channels to deliver greater convenience and variety. The “Joyful Trendy Winter Market” showcases a wide array of products, including outdoor gear, sports nutrition, trendy beverages, and sports equipment, catering to diverse consumer needs. The “Personal Second-hand Free Trade Market” will facilitate the exchange of second-hand sports equipment, facilitating a circular economy and enhancing the social aspect of winter sports. Special events, including the Stamp Collection of Winter Olympics Journey, a “City Consumption Map” collaboration with local shopping malls, and the distribution of WWSE vouchers, provide consumers with tangible discounts and conveniences, further boosting the upgrade of consumption.

Ten Exciting Activities Waiting for You, WWSE Opening a New Chapter in Its Decade-Long Journey

Ms. Zhang also unveiled featured activities for the tenth anniversary, showcasing a host of unique and exciting activities. This WWSE will involve ten winter sports powers, such as  Austria, Japan, and Germany, among others, to present the latest developments and features of their industries, promoting deeper international collaboration. In addition to these global showcases, the event will set industry standards through a series of multi-dimensional selections. Ten selections covers categories such as personal equipment brands, tourist destinations, and marketing cases. In line with the Global Ice and Snow Industry Alliance, ten inspection plans will be organized in renowned winter-featured cities. Ten interviews engages top industry leaders, renowned for their expertise and influence. Ten innovative projects will be selected, highlighting the most investment-worthy ventures in the field. Ten ambassadors promotion plans will be carried out in collaboration with influential figures from the industry. To further amplify its reach, the WWSE will partner with authoritative media platforms to launch ten platform linkage plans. Ten themed exhibition zones will showcase a broad range of topics, including winter sports, tourism, and lifestyle. The zones include Winter & Alpine Technology, National Pavilion, China’s Ice and Snow Economic Clusters, Winter Tourism Destinations, Personal Winter Sports Equipment, Institutions and Industry Service, SRDIT Enterprises, and Winter Sports Culture and Events. What’s more, ten special forums will delve into winter sports, culture, equipment, and tourism, while ten winter activities, including the Winter Sports Carnival, the Purchasing Festival, and Public Winter Festival, will offer global enthusiasts the chance to experience the passion and charm of winter sports firsthand.

As a vital industrial milestone of the WWSE, the press conference also revealed that this year’s “Research Report on China’s Winter Sports Industry Development” will be launched on site as usual. Since the first release in 2016, the report has become China’s first comprehensive industry report, covering the entire sector. It has played a key role in supporting the development of related industries by providing valuable research and data. Looking ahead, the WWSE plans to establish a research institute, designed to bring together global expertise and innovation from the industry. The institute will offer more specialized and comprehensive intellectual support for organizations and enterprises in the sector. Furthermore, it is committed to building a “Tenth Anniversary” ecosystem. This will include a focus on a global winter sports industry alliance and resource-sharing network, a collaborative platform for media, events, and activities, and a tenth anniversary all-media matrix. This integrated approach will ensure full-channel communication through official platforms and deepened cooperation across the industry.

During the press conference, a roundtable discussion was held centered on the theme of “Driving Industry Innovation through the Growth of Ice and Snow Consumer Demand”. Moderated by Ms. Zhang, the session involved six experts in the industry, who are long-time partners of the WWSE, that is, Ms. Melissa Säilä, Minister-Counselor  at the Embassy of Finland, Beijing; Sunny Shen, Marketing Director & Engo Ice Devision Business Unit Director of Italian TechnoAlpin China; Mr. Ding Xiangxu, Head of Asia for TOMSEN; Mr. Luo Yun, Founder of Metaspace; Mr. Hu Wei, General Manager of Beijing Nanshan Ski Resort Co., Ltd;and Huang Jing, Marketing Deputy General Manager of Zhangjiakou Yunding Snow Park Management Company. The discussion circles around four areas, policy analysis, technological perspectives, cultural insights, and spatial restructuring. Together with industry representatives, the panel worked to develop a comprehensive vision for the innovative growth of the sector.

As it marks its tenth anniversary, the WWSE will strengthen global connections, foster sustainable industry growth, and unlock new opportunities for the ice and snow economy.

SOURCE World Winter Sports (Beijing) Expo



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Womens sports is booming. Can it continue ethically?

It seems you can’t look anywhere without hearing about the growth and profitability of women’s sports. The refrain has gone from “no one watches women’s sports” to “everyone watches women’s sports” in a matter of just a few years. For longtime fans of women’s basketball, women’s soccer and women’s hockey, the meteoric growth of leagues […]

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It seems you can’t look anywhere without hearing about the growth and profitability of women’s sports. The refrain has gone from “no one watches women’s sports” to “everyone watches women’s sports” in a matter of just a few years. For longtime fans of women’s basketball, women’s soccer and women’s hockey, the meteoric growth of leagues like the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) can feel exciting. But with all this growth comes more complicated feelings too.

The argument for investing in women’s sports often falls along capitalist lines such as “there’s money to be made here, and it would be unwise to pass it up.” A new report from Deloitte estimates that global revenue generated by elite women’s sports will exceed £1.8 billion (approximately $3.3 billion in Canadian dollars) in 2025. With investment opportunities increasing exponentially, women’s pro sports leagues are signing sponsorship deals with major companies left and right. However, which brands these leagues are choosing to partner with now that there is money available is increasingly at odds with the presumably progressive values these leagues have been perceived to have by long-time fans. 

The WNBA players, in particular, have made a name for themselves with their commitment to racial justice activism and social justice advocacy cause that they dedicate each season to (there is even a documentary about their activism, called Power of the Dream). In women’s soccer, the U.S. Women’s National Team’s fight for equal pay often transfers to perceptions of the NWSL because many of the same players are represented. Even though those values and actions come from the players themselves, the public perception often applies those views to the leagues as a whole. In the public sphere, the distinction between the league (a corporation with its own interests in mind) and the players (individual workers with their own views) is often flattened.   

Take, for example, the WNBA, whose season starts this week. It will be the league’s most talked-about season since its launch nearly 30 years ago. With a brand-new team in the Golden State Valkyries and Canadian expansion set for 2026 with the Toronto Tempo, all eyes are on the W and everyone wants a piece of the pie. Their partnership with Amazon Prime to stream games is continuing this season, with 25 games streaming on the platform. The WNBA isn’t the only league with an Amazon partnership either. The NWSL also streams games on Prime.

But the NWSL’s partnership with Amazon is baffling when you consider that it is a league currently in the process of a rebrand following their disturbing sexual abuse scandal and continued and ongoing workplace harassment crisis. Not only that, but the league has leaned heavily on lip service around progressive values in order to change the public’s perception of it and has benefitted mightily from that strategy.

 

“Why would a league that is being heralded as “a beacon of social and political activism” think that partnering with Amazon would align with its values?”

“Under [Commissioner Jessica] Berman’s leadership … the NWSL has become a sporting beacon of social and political activism,” a 2024 report from SportsPro explained data from Luscid, a platform that tracks sport and entertainment data, measured “the league’s key marketing strengths”—which included “community impact”—and cited Amazon as one of the blue-chip companies the league has signed recently. These new partnerships moved the total annual value of the NWSL’s portfolio to over $24.5 million—a fourfold increase from 2021.

But why would a league that is being heralded as “a beacon of social and political activism” think that partnering with Amazon would align with its values? Amazon is well known to be a company that, among other things, exploits workers, puts them in unsafe working conditions, helps fund ICE, has a terrible environmental record and is single-handedly responsible for killing bookstores. Perhaps for the same reason they thought their new partnership with Alex Cooper’s Unwell Hydration drink was a good idea? Cooper, the host of the popular Call Her Daddy podcast, is a former employee of Barstool Sports and has done little to distance herself or her brand from Barstool’s toxic and offensive content in the years since she left the company. Not only that, her Unwell Hydration beverage is a Nestlé product, which is currently the subject of multiple boycotts for reasons that include political, environmental and human rights concerns. In Canada, the company faces boycotts from the Council of Canadians and the indigenous rights organization Lakota People’s Law Project for extracting water from watersheds that have recently seen droughts. All of the leagues have at least one official partnership with a company that is on the Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) list.

Or take the glut of weight-loss drug ads that permeate women’s sporting events. During the PWHL’s “Takeover Tour,” in which the league travelled to host cities who don’t have their own teams in order to promote the game, ads for Wegovy could be seen on in-game monitors. The WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx have a partnership with the weight-loss program Livea and the Indiana Fever have an Eli Lilly patch on their uniforms (Eli Lilly is the company that produces the GLP-1s Mounjaro and Zepbound). These drugs, when advertised to treat “obesity” as the presenting problem, can promote fatphobic and dangerous body image ideals—especially for the young girls watching at home, who represent the fastest-growing fan demographic.

Even the rash of new beauty campaigns is not without concern. As makeup companies like Sephora sign partnerships with Unrivaled, the off-season women’s basketball league, and WNBA teams like the Toronto Tempo, Fenty Beauty becomes the official sponsor of the WNBA’s New York Liberty and Maybelline Cosmetics partners with the new Women’s Lacrosse League, centuries-old anxieties about women athletes and femininity are reinforced. Masculine-of-centre athletes get far fewer endorsements and brand deals, reinforcing oppressive hierarchies and income disparities, as well as perpetuating queerphobia.

The financial consequences of these regressive beauty standards would be concerning enough on their own, but in a time of increased “transvestigations” of women athletes, the focus on platforming traditionally feminine athletes is far more insidious than it may first appear. Trans women and girls are increasingly being viewed as a threat to not only women’s sports, but to the safety and security of cis women as a whole, which is quietly reinforced by the focus on these highly feminized beauty campaigns.

It’s also insidious because brands are capitalizing on a highly motivated and incredibly trusting market in women’s sports fans. Research has found that WNBA and women’s sports can “enhance a brand’s image by demonstrating its commitment to social responsibility, gender equality and empowerment.” When a company advertises with one of these leagues, those values become associated with their brand, too. Nielsen’s Fan Insights found that 44 percent of WNBA fans have visited a brand’s website after seeing WNBA sponsorships during a game and 28 percent have bought from a sponsoring brand. Ads aired during the 2024 WNBA regular season through the end of May were a remarkable 26 percent more likely to spark consumer engagement than the 2023 WNBA season average. And women athletes are far more likely to convert buyers than their male counterparts, with a recent study revealing that U.S. consumers are more likely to purchase sports tech products from Caitlin Clark, Simone Biles and Serena Williams over comparable male athletes.

And yet, sponsorships and endorsements, which are only really given to the most elite teams and athletes, inevitably worsen systemic inequalities like sexism, racism, transphobia, classism and ableism. “Just as in men’s sport and wider society, it is the ‘ruling elite’ who control elite, competitive, commercialized sport, that stand to gain the most when growth is the primary objective,” Evie Ashton wrote in the It’s Just a Game newsletter. “When elite sport makes more money, financial brokers, shareholders, wealthy top executives, conservative politicians and upper-middle class people extend their power.”

The evidence for this can be seen in the names who are buying into pro women’s teams. Last season, Julia Koch, an American socialite who is one of the richest women in the world, and her son, David, Jr., bought a 15 percent stake in the WNBA’s New York Liberty. The move to sell part of the team to the Koch family raised eyebrows among fans, some of whom launched a petition asking Koch to donate $15 million of her own money to causes supported by WNBA players. The petition was started by started by the folks behind the Women’s Sports Rally social group.

WNBA players care about who they play for and who represents them—the WNBA’s social justice initiative for the 2024 season involves reproductive justice and civic engagement. The Kochs have a long history of making donations to political candidates that often work against these interests, donating exclusively to Republican candidates. Meanwhile, the NWSL team Angel City FC, which made its name being a majority-women-owned club, was sold to Disney CEO Bob Iger.

“The men’s pro sports model didn’t rise out of a neutral condition; it owes its success to empire and oppressive conditions which were explicitly designed to sustain it and which are protected by the most powerful people in society,” Zoë Hayden wrote at The Victory Press in 2019. “Women’s sports … were not meant to succeed under these conditions, and in an attempt to do so, they both intentionally and unintentionally align themselves with empire and with capitalism instead of trying to change the conditions themselves.” As a result, women’s sports leagues come to reinforce oppression rather than becoming the forces for social, political and cultural justice that they have the potential to be.”

All of this raises larger questions around whether women’s sports finding mainstream success is at odds with the stated values of its players—and its fans. At the same time, it’s a double-edged sword: true equality means not expecting more from a women’s league than we would from a men’s league, and these aren’t questions that men’s leagues are expected to be able to answer. But doesn’t progress look like trying to make a better future for the multiply-marginalized athletes and fans who have built women’s sports into the juggernaut they are today?

These are questions that will plague these women’s leagues as they continue to grow. The answers will determine what kind of future women’s sports wants to have for itself, but I fear that future may not be an equitable one.

Clarification: May 16, 2025 12:26 pmThe Change.org petition was started by a different group than originally noted in this article, which has been updated with the correct information.





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The power of Oman’s sports economy

Image: Muscat Gulf Cup, Pranav21391, Public Domain Oman’s sports economy came under the spotlight at the recent Tejarah Talks “Game On: The Potential of Oman’s Sports Economy.” Visitors to the event heard that an ecosystem should be built to create seamless sport pathways from grassroots to elite, supported by public and private sectors. A clear […]

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About Oman’s new sport economy
Image: Muscat Gulf Cup, Pranav21391, Public Domain

Oman’s sports economy came under the spotlight at the recent Tejarah Talks “Game On: The Potential of Oman’s Sports Economy.”

Visitors to the event heard that an ecosystem should be built to create seamless sport pathways from grassroots to elite, supported by public and private sectors.

A clear vision should be set with a global sporting calendar and targeted infrastructure investments, including a big bang event in which Oman should showcase itself to the world through a major sporting event like hosting the Formula One.

Creative Thought Leader & Storyteller, Jamal Al-Asmi, said in a LinkedIn post, “So it turns out that the global sports industry is no game. It’s a whopping $2.65 trillion powerhouse, ranking as the 9th largest industry worldwide and growing at a staggering 6.3% annually. But in a typical fashion, Oman isn’t just chasing numbers.

“We’re talking about an ecosystem that spans media rights, sponsorships, digital engagement, and community health and it all has to be in line with the country’s ethos.

“The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar generated over $7.5 billion in revenue – imagine what Oman can achieve by playing to its strengths which are not to be played around with.”

HE pankaj khimji recounted how Oman, with its newly upgraded Al Amerat Cricket Stadium, co-hosted the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2021 – an event that not only put Oman on the global cricket map but also showcased the country’s ability to deliver world-class experiences.

On the back of this, local businesses thrived, SMEs got a boost, and youth participation in cricket soared, with over 700 Omani students now playing cricket in schools and growing.

Joe Rafferty, Event Business Development Director at Oman Sail, highlighted Oman’s competitive edge: its people.

International organisers praised the professionalism, hospitality, and operational excellence of Omani teams.

Rafferty emphasized that while infrastructure matters, it’s the spirit and skill of the Omani people that win trust and repeat business.

He also noted that sports tourists spend 1.6 times more than average visitors – a massive opportunity for the tourism sector.

Ali Alajmi, CEO of Sabco Sports, the mastermind behind over 150 sports events in Oman, brought the numbers.

He said Sabco Sports has engaged over 100,000 participants and 28-30 sponsors for events like the Muscat Marathon, which now attracts 13,000 runners.

He stressed the importance of mass participation events-not just for elite athletes, but for building a healthy, active, and connected society.

Sponsorship now makes up 70-75% of event revenue, proving the private sector’s growing confidence in Oman’s sports ecosystem. The real golden ticket to be had though is in media rights.
 

To build a winning sports economy the audience heard that:

  • Public-Private collaboration Is essential. Oman’s success stories-like the Muscat Marathon and ICC World Cup are built on partnerships.
  • Mass participation drives the base events that get thousands moving, from school competitions to city marathons, and are the foundation for elite talent and a healthier society. This base also attracts sponsors and builds a culture of lifelong sports engagement.
  • Infrastructure, yes-but people first – While stadiums and facilities matter, it’s the operational excellence, hospitality, and passion of Oman’s people that set the country apart. Training, upskilling, and empowering local talent is crucial for long-term success.
  • Sports Tourism and Economic Diversification – Sports tourists are high-value visitors. By leveraging Oman’s natural assets-coastlines, mountains, and heritage sports can carve a unique niche in the region and beyond.
  • Entrepreneurship and Innovation – From e-sports to sports tech start-ups, Oman’s young, tech-savvy population is ready to lead. The panel encouraged entrepreneurs to seize opportunities, supported by evolving regulations and funding models.

 
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