As the new face of FedEx's initiative "Champions of Business," Andrés Iniesta, an established global icon in football, entrepreneur, businessman, and investor, seeks to bring attention to innovative small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that are impacting the football industry.
Dan Vines, Senior Vice President of Sales for FedEx Europe, and ex-footballer, founder, and CEO Bex Smith joined Iniesta to hear stories from the companies making up the FedEx Champions of Business list. This list, created in cooperation with The Financial Times, highlights SMEs that have significantly influenced football or introduced innovations to the sport. These companies are contributing to the success of football clubs across Europe, through amateur to top-tier teams, by offering pioneering technologies and solutions that enhance fan experiences.
At the initiative's launch, three selected companies showcased their innovative solutions live to Andrés, Dan, and Bex. Among them was the Czech firm Eyeball.club, presenting technology that advances football scouting worldwide. The Dutch entity The Waste Transformers displayed breakthrough containerized bioreactors that turn stadium food waste into clean energy and certified natural fertilizers. The event concluded with Austrian company zone14, a pioneer in smart camera systems that not only record, analyze, and broadcast matches and practices but also provide performance insights directly from the video.