6th September 2022
The adoption of technology to provide an edge – both on and off the pitch – is growing year-on-year. We are seeing even more football clubs entering into contracts with technology companies as they look to gain commercial, operational and playing advantages.
A trend in recent years has been for ‘top 6’ clubs to appoint official technology partners, for example: Arsenal partnering with Acronis, Chelsea with Wipro, Liverpool with Wasabi Technologies, Manchester City with Cisco, Manchester United with DXC, and Tottenham Hotspur with Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
In small numbers, we are now seeing football clubs lower down the footballing pyramid appoint technology partners, for example: West Ham United naming Fetch AI as their artificial technology partner, Queens Park Rangers appointing the Academia Group as their official technology partner and Eventura becoming the official technology partner of Bolton Wanderers. Gone are the days when buying technology was an afterthought for football clubs – it is now a key procurement at all levels of the professional game.
Buying technology products comes with its own set of challenges and pitfalls. For football clubs looking to level up their IT ahead of the 2022/23 season, this article sets out five points to watch out for.
For specific advice on the technology agreements you have in place, or new agreements you are looking to make, please contact Luke Jackson or any other member of the Sport team.