Barcelona City Council and INDESCAT have signed a memorandum of understanding at the Mobile World Congress 2023 to set up the Barcelona Sports Hub.
The Barcelona Sports Hub was created with the aim of turning the Catalan capital into an international point of reference in terms of sport tech innovation for improving the competitiveness of its members, and also for making a contribution to the promotion of sport within the community, in line with the aim of the 2030 Agenda. To make this project a reality, today, 1 March, a memorandum of understanding has been signed with INDESCAT in the City Hall space in Beato Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress 2023.
The alliance will make it possible to tackle the challenges involved in the technological improvement and digitalisation of physical activity and sport in all areas and at all levels in an innovative way, and give lots of impetus to the Barcelona Sports Hub – there are already several companies and institutions interested in joining it.
Councillor for Sport, David Escudé, said: “We’re extremely grateful for the huge amount of interest in taking part in this public-private project shown by many leading figures in the sport tech sector. We’re delighted to now be taking this great step forward, alongside INDESCAT, to make the Barcelona Sports Hub a reality, and together to turn Barcelona into an international point of reference in the field of e-sports as well”.
Anna Pruna, President of INDESCAT, remarked: “For INDESCAT, launching this project represents one of the most important challenges for the cluster, and is something we’ve been working on for a long time – promoting Barcelona and Catalonia as a hub for innovation in the sports sector. Furthermore, this hub will allow us to promote the growth and innovation of the sports industry in Catalonia, and also in the rest of the world. All this can be achieved thanks to the collaboration and cooperation of all those who are a part of it”.
The overarching goal is to offer new services and draw in all the companies, startups, clubs, organisations, professionals, entrepreneurs and/or investors associated with the sport tech sector, so that by enhancing their competitiveness they can have an impact, by promoting and encouraging the public to practice sport, and supporting sports clubs within the framework of the 2030 agenda.
Under the agreement, the Barcelona Sports Hub will launch its first activity plan, which will initially focus on the creation of the hub’s own community, support for the B-STEP programme, support for start-ups, the launch of the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium Incubator, the promotion and retention of STEM talent in sport, making the city’s sports system available for companies and start-ups as a laboratory for testing new products and technological solutions with the Barcelona City Sports Lab, and the channelling of investment into new business projects.
What is the Barcelona Sports Hub?
Driven by Barcelona City Council, led by the Barcelona Sports Institute (IBE) and with the collaboration of Barcelona Municipal Services, Barcelona Activa and INDESCAT, the Barcelona Sports Hub is a public-private initiative that will provide the city with a space for technology and innovation applied to the world of sport, with the aim of generating synergies between a multitude of different agents (organisations, investors, companies and entrepreneurs) and energising and accelerating the city’s sport tech ecosystem.
In addition to the protocol, one of the most significant services that the hub will soon be offering is the launch of the first specific incubator for startups and companies in the techno-sports sector. It is to be located at the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium, and once the work has been completed in 2023, the first organisations will be able to establish themselves there.
INDESCAT
INDESCAT is a sports cluster whose mission is to bring together companies and organisations linked to the world of sport in Catalonia, in order to develop initiatives that will improve their competitiveness, and also that of the world of sport as a whole. Currently, INDESCAT represents over 120 companies and organisations.