The UAE are taking an admirable lead on innovation. Reading about the UAE Digital government strategy 2025 (available here), one is easily awe struck by the solid structure put in place around what are independently very complex and dynamic parts. Suddenly, these ambitious and long-term goals seem palpably achievable, especially when led by a focused and fearless Emirati government.
Having worked with data and related technologies for so long, I am delighted to read how the plans aim to ensure that individual digital drives are also interconnected in a way that would make any data-lover lick his lips in joyful anticipation. When we approach data and strategy in the right way, connecting and cross referencing between them, 1+1 really does equal 3. YES!
In July of this year, Dubai created a Higher Committee for “Future Technology and Digital Economy”. I found the choice for the Chairman for the committee especially pleasing with the Crown Prince, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, taking up the position. Beyond being a model leader for the younger generation and perfect for the digital strategy agenda, HH Sheikh Hamdan has a deep passion for sports. What does sport have to do with anything? Well… for me… everything.
I can think of no better connector of people than the medium of sport. Through sports with come together on our emotional roller coaster of celebratory highs and despondent lows. The German footballing legend, Franz Beckenbauer, described his own sport as “…one of the world’s best means of communication. It is impartial, apolitical and universal. Football unites people around the world every day”.
The UAE has its timing just right. And, whilst embracing the younger generation to plot a roadmap to digitisation, the power of sports is not to be missed. The “assets” may be increasingly digital in nature, but what sits behind them, powering them along the way, are very much real people. If we want those digital data points to all line up and create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts, it is wise to ensure that people living in the UAE work in tandem towards mutually beneficial goals.
When you pull together, you pull stronger. Always.
Today, there is a plethora of technologies that are designed to support the way athletes, clubs, and federations both improve performance levels on the pitch and enhance commercial opportunities off it. It will come as no surprise that a disproportionate number of sports tech companies are located in Israel, providing a hand in glove fit for any UAE requirements and once again illustrating how the accords between the two countries are, quite literally, a match made in heaven.
A combination of over two decades experience in the industry, a great network and my position as an investor, presents me personally with an almost unique front row seat to all the best tech available, and I am more than excited about the possibilities to really move the needle here.
When considering the performance arena, let’s think about the challenge starting at grass roots level. One of the major issues faced by many developed countries, such as the UAE, is how to promote health and wellness in an age of esports, computer games and an over-sedentary lifestyle. I believe that any aspiration to take youth back to an era devoid of devices, is totally doomed. We live in different times. And we need to embrace the reality of technology rather than reject it. What that means for health and wellness in youth is to drive physical activity through their digital engagement. There are countless apps and wearables that are designed to do exactly that. Do they all work? Of course not. But a clever choice of the right combination of deliverables can make a world of change to any country tackling the issues of obesity and physical inactivity.
The same principle applies to professional athletes. Understanding which innovations can support improvement of team and player performance is paramount. Personally, I’d like to see the sophisticated use of tech to help national sporting goals such as both Israel and the UAE reaching the 2026 World Cup in North America. Israel came nowhere close to qualifying for Qatar this year and the UAE missed by a whisker.
On the commercial side, the way sports organisations interact with their fans has always been key. But now, digital technologies can take this ambition to new heights. “Gen Z” consume sports in a different way to that of previous generations and I am delighted to see new innovations enhancing sponsorship footprints, fan engagement tools, in-stadium experiences as well as sophisticated AI-driven solutions to reach sports fans in highly improved ways.
In similar fashion to the way the UAE government is cleverly approaching its digital strategy, the trick with sports technology is to approach it holistically. Siloed efforts are never going to provide the best outcomes. We need to make 1+1 equal 3, remember?
I am convinced that embracing sport as a horizontal to support the country’s digital strategy can play a major part to ensuring success, through combining the passion of our people in an exciting (and sometimes scary) technological world.
