After workshops and specific consulting mandates, the “Football Innovation Foresight Program”, initiative established from the partnership between Lega Pro and N3XT Sports, produced an exclusive report created in partnership with the Sport Management program of the US-based George Washington University. The report, shared with all member clubs, analyzed the value that digital transformation brings to organizations, focusing specifically on how digital & data strategies can incentivize new commercial opportunities.
The result of the research highlights how, to facilitate the implementation of a digital strategy, change management is a key factor. The creation of a centralized digital hub by Lega Pro will lower the burden on clubs of Serie C to invest in specific expertise and give them access to training opportunities, turnkey digital solutions & services, as well as a central knowledge base from which to learn and exchange.
Paolo Carito, Head of Strategic Development, Commercial and Marketing at Lega Pro explains: “The work done by the research team of George Washington University, whose MS in Sport Management Program is ranked among the 5 best global postgraduate sports business course according to SportBusiness, accurately photographs the state of Lega Pro and its clubs, tracing down the opportunities that we can pursue in our digital innovation path. We have understood the difficulties and needs of our clubs and in the next days we will be able to announce the first of the services that we will make available to them to foster the process of digital transformation.”
The research team formed by Aaquib Mohammed and Ethan Brown, and supervised by faculty advisor Dr. Lisa Delpy Neirotti, the Director of the MS in Sport Management Program at The George Washington University, conducted an in-depth analysis of the literature related to digital transformation best practices and to digital strategies of other football leagues and clubs, and then verified what they studied with the experiences of numerous professionals from sports organizations, clubs and digital transformation experts. The preliminary analysis phase ended with an examination of the current status of the 60 Lega Pro clubs and how they use digital technology.
“This exhaustive research studied best practices and new technologies from around the world that can benefit Lega Pro clubs. The recommendations take into consideration the existing landscape and are designed to be implementable resulting in more efficient and revenue positive actions. We want to thank Lega Pro and N3XT Sports for offering the GWU students this unique opportunity to gain insight into Club operations as well as relevant cutting-edge technology” states Lisa Delpy Neirotti.
Mounir Zok, CEO of N3XT Sports explains that “at N3XT Sports, we promote and advocate that sports organizations need to invest in their digital transformation initiatives and take ownership of their data value chain. Only this way will they be able to transform themselves into modern organizations that operate effectively and generate new business. We are delighted with the results that George Washington University unveiled through the Football Innovation Foresight Program that we are working on with Lega Pro. Lisa and her team have done a phenomenal job.”
You can download the summary of the report here: https://www.n3xtsports.com/lega-pro-report-della-gwu (language: Italian)
About Lega Pro
Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico was born as the third professional division of Italian football on 13 July, 1959. The structure and name of the league have changed several times over the course of its existence, establishing its present format as of the 2014-2015 season with the name “Lega Pro”. The league includes 60 teams distributed across all areas of the national territory, representing a strong social network for the continued development of the country. The league has a reach to 17 million fans, with the 60 teams competing in 1,140 regular season matches and 41 playoff matches, making Lega Pro one of the biggest sports leagues in the world.
About N3XT Sports
N3XT Sports is a sports consulting firm that specializes in innovation, technology & investment strategy. N3XT Sports works with international sporting organizations in football, basketball, and the Olympics, among others, to identify and address their most critical challenges, enabling them to achieve sustainable competitive advantage within the rapidly changing sports landscape. Born in the world’s epicenter of innovation in Silicon Valley, and headquartered in Barcelona.
About George Washington University
GW’s School of Business is an international leader in education and research, which prides itself on training future leaders to be global problem solvers and socially responsible managers. As one of the first to develop a specialized curriculum in sport management, GW offers a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and Master of Business Administration (MBA) degrees with concentrations in Sport Management, as well as a Master of Science in Sport Management (MSSM) and a Sport Philanthropy Executive Certificate. Since 1991, GW has produced more than 500 alumni working in sports, including teams, leagues, agencies, media, collegiate, and Olympic sports organizations.