STN #104 - Italy is the Sports Nation 🇮🇹

🔵 Italy is the Sports Nation 🇮🇹

Last week I was invited as a speaker at the Olympic Stadium in Rome as part of the Third Edition of the "Stati Generali del Mondo Lavoro nello Sport".

My panel was related to Sports and Sustainability and really interesting insights emerged that I share with all of you.

Today, all companies and governments are engaged in Sustainable Development actions necessitated by climate change and wealth divergences between countries around the World. And Sport is also called upon to make its contribution. And, then, it is clear that the world of sports also needs to do more for the sustainability of major events or for the energy efficiency of sports facilities, but it is equally true that sports practice is sustainable by nature.

In fact, if we look at the 17 Sustainable Development Goals defined by the UN, it is easy to see how sport impacts, in a congenial way, several of them: health and well-being, gender equality, reduction of inequality, world peace, are all goals that sport has always been able to achieve without any additional effort on the part of sports organizations.

And, then, I think the concept of Sustainability and Sustainable Development in sport needs to be re-read: sport is by its very nature Sustainable, but if we go back to the definition of Sustainability that I prefer which is that "Sustainability has the minimum goal of leaving the World in the state we found it into future generations," then Sport has a problem.

A problem that is not related to traditional ESG (Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance) but to the loss of interest by younger generations. And if younger generations are losing interest in sports, as the data show (69 per cent of Millennials say they are sports fans versus 48 per cent of Generation Z), then the problem is very serious and needs to be addressed urgently.

And, we, in Italy, are in a particularly favourable situation: in Israel, thanks to a few successful startups, they have managed to create an ecosystem dedicated to innovation composed of investors, brands, startups and organizations so much that they are recognized, globally, as the Sports Tech Nation, then, we can aspire to become the Sports Nation.

And, this, by leveraging the excellence that sets us apart:

• the great Champions (and their coaches) who win in every sport, from athletics to swimming, cycling, volleyball, soccer, gymnastics, and so many more;
• the brands that have made sports history, such as Ferrari, Ducati, Dallara, Aprilia, and so on, or that move millions of people, such as Technogym;
• the historical facilities starting from the uniqueness of the Foro Italico to the Monza's Century;
• to art, culture, food, climate, landscape, and history.

Here the mix of these factors is unique in the world and, put together, they are an extraordinary engine for Sustainable Development as well as a huge economic opportunity, capable of attracting tourism, investment, professional and amateur athletes from all over the world.

Italy is the Sports Nation, too bad we are not yet aware of it...

 📣 See you at the Social Football Summit on September 27-28 at the Olympic Stadium where I will be a speaker on Metaverse and web3.0 in soccer: full program here.

See you for a ☕️

🔵 750 million dollars invested in the "Metaverse" 💰

Companies such as Temasek, Xterio and others have allocated about $750 million in blockchain games and Metaverse startups since the beginning of last August.

According to a DappRadar report, one of the industry's most popular games -- Axie Infinity -- has surpassed $4 billion in NFT sales, while about 36,000 more people have joined as daily players in the past 3 months.

Despite the downturn in the crypto market, blockchain-based games continue to attract interest. Singapore-based Temasek led the latest funding round worth $100 million for Animoca Brands.

So what does this have to do with the world of Sports? Several are the points of contact starting right from Animoca Brands, which was the title sponsor of the MotoGP at Aragon last weekend as well as continuing to invest in startups that combine web3, metaverse and sports.

"The amount of investment shows that despite the difficult and uncertain conditions in the digital asset markets, major investment entities continue to focus on the sector," DappRadar said. Next, the analyst firm argued that blockchain gaming is still a young sector with great potential.

"We think blockchain gaming will be key in the next two to three years and bring at least 100 million new users into crypto for one simple reason: combining gaming, NFT and DeFi can create truly new and exceptional realities."

Needless to say, even in this area, Italy is completely absent...

🔵 The NFL and AR with Snapchat 🏈

The NFL is always one of the leagues to monitor when it comes to innovation and fan engagement, and the 2022 season does not disappoint expectations either.

This season, the NFL's app will add an augmented reality camera, made by Snap, as AR technology becomes an increasingly integral part of sports fans' experiences.

The partnership with the NFL also includes the introduction of an AR game within the Snapchat app, which has fans wear virtual jerseys to compete in a field goal contest.

AR content could be shareable, personalized and uniquely accessible compared to traditional content, as well as "a way to bring something to the user that they can feel like they're really there." According to the company, 205 million people watched sports content on Snapchat in 2021, while North American users used AR 2.1 billion times during Super Bowl LVI.

In the NFL app, fans will be able to open a camera and create images with elements such as virtual helmets and black eyes that can be sent via Snapchat or other social platforms.