Six startups from Arsenal’s Innovation Lab recently announced their proposed products.
English Premier League soccer club Arsenal FC has announced the launch of its own innovation lab. With this move, the club is seeking to work with startups to identify, what it is calling “ground-breaking new fan experiences.”
Applications for this innovation lab are now open for businesses to apply and the club will run a 10-week program in collaboration with L Marks, a company specializing in corporate innovation. The Gunners are looking for companies specializing in four key areas including matchday experience, engagement on a global level, commercial partnerships and retail operations. However, the club has also left open a “wildcard” application for businesses outside of these four core areas.
The deadline for submissions is Oct. 12, followed by a pitch day in November. For those applicants selected, they will be mentored by senior business leaders from the club. The program itself starts in January and will wrap up with a final pitch day in March 2018, where companies will present their proposal for potential future engagement with Arsenal.
In a statement regarding the move, Vinai Venkatesham, Arsenal’s Chief Commercial Officer, said: “We know there are many brilliant startup companies with creative and innovative ideas and we are looking forward to working with them. The club has always placed a big emphasis on being pioneering and innovative and we plan to continue this by working with smart-thinking businesses to help us identify ground-breaking ideas to take us forwards.”
In the same statement, Stuart Marks Chairman of L Marks said: “Community and innovation are at the heart of Arsenal’s history and values, and so it’s incredibly exciting for L Marks to be supporting the club to accelerate their collaborations with startups and tech talent. Though based in London, Arsenal has global support which presents amazing opportunities for new businesses working on digital fan engagement and other relevant solutions to work with the club.”
