Governing Bodies
Switzerland is home to the three biggest sporting federations in the world – FIFA, UEFA and the IOC. The World Cup and the Olympics are undoubtedly the two biggest global sporting events, and the Champions League is the biggest domestic competition. Each federation runs an initiative aimed at promoting innovative sports technology:
The FIFA Innovation Programme is a tech-accelerator initiative that supports FIFA’s strategic objectives to invest in digital technology and AI to enhance the game. Established in 2021 and relaunched with an expanded scope in early 2025, the programme poses specific industry challenges and priorities, inviting suppliers to submit their solutions in areas ranging from officiating and performance management to broadcast and event operations. Successful applicants benefit from continued testing and support from FIFA, allowing for the testing and refinement of products not yet ready for the market.
Established in 2018, UEFA’s Innovation Hub exists to foster the development of cutting edge solutions that improve European Football and the society it operates in. With a focus on areas such as sustainability, women’s football and digital transformation, the body aims to harness public and private sector expertise, actively scouting for startups and technologies whilst collaborating with academic institutions and corporate partners.
The IOC’s innovation initiative – the Olympism365 Innovation Hub – is delivered in collaboration with Beyond Sport and Women Win, with a specific focus on sports contribution to social and sustainable development. The hub aims to incubate cutting edge ideas on grassroots development and social enterprise by establishing think tanks that pool knowledge and allow members to apply for grants and secure the resources needed to test and scale their ideas.
Corporate Sector
The DACH region boasts market leaders in areas such as data & enterprise technology, media platforms and equipment manufacturers and performance tech.
Data and Enterprise
Germany multinational, SAP is the world’s largest non-American software company by revenue and their specialist sports unit drives performance, business operations and fan engagement for a range of sports including football, handball and ice hockey through cloud-based analytics and AI solutions. SAP are deeply embedded in the global sports ecosystem through partnerships with rights holders such as MercedesAMG PETRONAS F1 team, NHL and the San Francisco 49ers but also domestically with the likes of FC Bayern Munich, VfB Stuttgart, Adler Mannheim and Rhein-Neckar Löwen.
Although founded in Norway, leading global sports technology business Sportradar is registered and headquartered in Switzerland. Operating at the intersection of the sports, media, and betting industries, Sportradar provides data-driven services aimed at enhancing fan experience and sports integrity across the global sports landscape. Like SAP they are deeply embedded in sport as trusted partners for a host of international federations and leagues including ATP, NBA, PGA, UEFA, FIFA and the Bundesliga.
Media platforms
In the age of streaming and OTT, Germany has proven to be fertile ground for the growth of sports media platforms.
Headquartered in Berlin, OneFootball is the world’s largest digital football media platform, serving over 200 million monthly active users with live scores, news, highlights, and streaming from over 200 leagues. The platform mixes in-house editorial, content aggregated from a network of independent creators, clubs, and leagues and boasts an ownership structure that includes 11 major clubs, MLS and the German Football Federation (DFB).
Few media businesses can have a stronger sport’s heritage than Dyn Media which was formed in 2022 by longstanding former German Football League (DFL) CEO Christian Seifert. With a focus on sports such as handball, basketball and volleyball, Dyn operates by acquiring rights, producing high-quality live and on-demand content and then distributing it via its cloud-based streaming platform. The recent split of their businesses units has enabled them to better position their broadcast tech solutions to the wider industry.
Although not a DACH native business, DAZN is very much a mainstay of the regional sports media ecosystem, where the streaming service is the official broadcaster of the Bundesliga and some UEFA competitions including the Europa and Nations Leagues.
Equipment Manufacturers and Performance Tech
Germany is home to two of the biggest global sports brands in Adidas & Puma, both of which have invested heavily into research & development in order to find innovative product designs and material which give their athletes an edge.
With its strong Alpine links, Austria makes a perfect base for leading winter sports brands like Atomic, Fischer Sports and Head – the latter establishing its R&D centre there.
Red Bull is a brand synonymous with multiple sports. Through their Athlete Performance Centre and Red Bull Academy – both based in Salzburg – the energy drinks brand leverages the latest in data-analysis and performance technology to help the elite athletes across their network reach their potential. They also have Red Bull Advance Technologies, born out of its ties to F1, which brings high-performance engineering business capabilities to a range of different industries.
Finally, Kinexon Sports – headquartered in Berlin – is recognized as a leader in realtime movement tracking and advanced analytics. Their technology powers decision making around athlete performance and injury prevention for leading teams in sports leagues including the NBA and the Bundesliga, as well as providing the data used to fuel immersive fan experiences.
Research Institutions
The DACH boasts a well-developed academic and research ecosystem for sports technology, combining specialist sports universities, technical institutions and applied research centres that are closely connected to elite sport, winter sports industries and major equipment manufacturers.
For example, German Sport University Cologne is one of the top 20 academic institutions globally entirely dedicated to sport science with specialist centres focused on performance analytics, physiology and digital sport technologies. In Austria, the ecosystem is more industry-integrated, linking universities with Alpine sports equipment manufacturers and winter-sport federations.
In Switzerland, academic excellence in sports is driven by AISTS – International Academy of Sport Science and Technology, the post graduate research & consultancy centre co-founded by the IOC.
The Triangular Innovation Model
The sports technology sector across the DACH region is tightly interconnected, operating a triangular innovation model. Governing bodies and rights holders define the performance needs then work closely with academic institutions on the research projects needed to establish the technology development parameters. Corporations like Adidas and Head then collaborate with the academic bodies to develop and test products, before commercialising them for professional sport and consumer markets.
How are the different DACH nations and their sports leagues approaching sports technology and innovation?
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