president of FC Barcelona, Joan Laportaand John HoffmanCEO of GSMA Ltd., the company behind MWC Barcelonaon Monday signed a collaboration agreement for the annual sports innovation congress of the Barça Innovation Hub, sports tomorrow be part of the events program for the next edition of MWC Barcelona 2023. The agreement means that sports innovation will be integrated into one of the most important technological events in the world, while promoting Sports Tomorrow to an audience worldwide through a leading brand like MWC Barcelona.

The agreement, signed by Joan Laporta and John Hoffman in President Suñol’s box at the Camp Nou, was carried out by both parties with the aim of achieving synergies between technology and sports innovation, thus representing the first space of meetings, debates and knowledge for the sports ecosystem within the MWC Barcelona. The event also counted with the presence of Àngel Riudalbas, member of the Board of Directors responsible for the Barça Innovation Hub.

The deal means Sports Tomorrow will take place on a different date and at a different location. The congress will move from the Club’s facilities to one of the areas inside the Fira de Barcelona in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, the usual venue for MWC Barcelona. As for the date, it will no longer be held during a week in November, but rather over two days between February 27 and March 2, 2023, coinciding with the next edition of MWC Barcelona and is currently the subject of the agreement between FC Barcelona and GSMA.

A congress focused on the role of the mind in sport

The content is also subject to change. Sports Tomorrow has traditionally consisted of different sports-themed tracks or lectures, such as medicine, physiotherapy, nutrition, data analytics, technology, or sports business. The congress will now revolve around a single theme for the 2023 edition, namely “Minds Behind The Game”, which will deepen the role of the mind on the performance of athletes, as well as the cognitive applications of intelligence. artificial in all areas of the sports sector.

The fact that Sports Tomorrow is part of the MWC Barcelona 2023, the world’s largest event in the technology and connectivity sector, responds to the desire of the congress and its organizer, Barça Innovation Hub – the knowledge and innovation platform of FC Barcelona – to promote a culture of excellence and collaboration with brands, universities, research centres, start-ups, entrepreneurs, students, sportspeople, investors and visionaries around the world. One way to implement it is to organize congresses and conferences like Sports Tomorrow, a pioneering initiative where football clubs have become a reference in the sports field since 2016 (under the name Sports Tomorrow from 2020). For example, the 2021 edition of the congress brought together 282 experts and brought together more than 2000 people.

The agreement with the GSMA also means that Sports Tomorrow will move from the Club ground to a city-wide project like MWC Barcelona, ​​one of the key events when it comes to projecting the Barcelona brand. in the whole world.

Statement by Joan Laporta, President of FC Barcelona

“We are very proud and excited about this agreement with MWC Barcelona, ​​​​the leading platform in the mobile technology sector, as it will transform both a leading sports innovation event such as the Sports Tomorrow congress into a world reference when it comes to linking technology and sport, while helping to project the city of Barcelona as the world capital of this sector”.

Statement from GSMA CEO John Hoffman

“We are beyond excited to collaborate with FC Barcelona. The co-location of Sports Tomorrow Congress at MWC Barcelona 2023 brings together two world-leading events and creates space to identify and create new business opportunities in mobile ecosystems. The move shows the strategic importance and power of mobile connectivity and follows the launch of Industry City at MWC22, featuring the fintech, manufacturing and automotive sectors.