Barcelona, Apr 13 (EFE) .- The Barcelona Sportstech HUB23 association, which brings together more than 100 startups, companies and organizations in the sector, aims to make Barcelona the world capital of the sports and technology business, and has just achieved the support from the Generalitat de Catalunya, with which it will work from now on to develop different lines of action.
‘Barcelona is the third sports city in the world and has a lot of movement at a technological level with large events such as the Mobile World Congress and the presence of dozens of powerful startups. One of the objectives of HUB23 is to attract talent and capital to be in the Champions of the ‘sportstech’ sector, explains Josep M. Monti, the president of the association to EFE.
And he adds: ‘But to achieve this we need the commitment of public and private administrations and all be aligned with this objective’.
The agreement signed with the Generalitat de Catalunya, through the Department of Digital Policies and Public Administration, will promote innovation and competitiveness in the digital sector in Catalonia and contribute to the development of sports technologies.
To this end, there will be an international promotion of the link between Barcelona and Catalonia with technology and sport; It will contribute to the creation of the appropriate environment for the development of ‘sportstech’ companies; Local and international investment will be attracted and talent will be connected with companies in this emerging sector.
In addition, for HUB23, which is committed to decentralization, it will be a way to work directly with entities such as the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and the CAR of Sant Cugat, which are betting heavily on technological advances in sport.
To date, Barcelona is the third European city in number of startups and companies in the ‘sportstech’ sector, according to the report ‘European Sportstech Report 2021’. But, on the other hand, it ranks 38th in terms of sector financing.
“If there is not an ecosystem set up around ‘sportstech’, it is difficult for investors to bet on the sector as is the case in Barcelona with biotechnologies, for example ‘, argues the president of HUB23.
For Monti, ‘Barcelona in a natural way is a benchmark in the world of sports thanks to the fact that it has always had a very powerful associative fabric and first-rate clubs, such as those for swimming, which makes it an ideal city for initiatives like this one. ‘
The agreement with the Generalitat de Catalunya is not the only one that HUB23 has closed in recent times to continue growing. Another relevant alliance has been made with the Sports Innovation Alliance (SIA), formed by 30 football clubs from around the world (among them, Real Sociedad, Celtic de Glasgow, Sporting de Lisboa, Chivas, Club Atlético Peñarol and Spartak Moscow).
The objective of the SIA is for its clubs to share ideas and establish synergies to carry out technological innovations and thanks to this agreement with HUB23 they will have direct access to the more than 100 startups and companies that are part of the association.
Another collaboration agreement that the sportstech sector organization has recently reached is with the Association of Catalan Companies of Fitness Clubs (Adecaf), with which it intends to carry out joint projects.
On the other hand, on April 23 HUB23 will inaugurate its headquarters (spread over different facilities) in the 22 @ district of Barcelona, where it will have a ‘sportslab’ in which to test technological advances; a coworking space; an eSports arena and a cafeteria. EFE
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