At Turf Moor, the action isn’t just happening on the pitch as Burnley FC’s owners are gearing up to open the doors to sports tech start-ups looking to trial and scale their products.
At the heart of that vision is a new Innovation Hub, where sports tech start-ups will be able to run live pilots inside Burnley FC, with direct access to club staff, facilities, and decision-makers, marking a “tech-forward” shift for the club.
Europe has already seen club-led innovation hubs at the likes of Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, and Atlético Madrid. Although Arsenal and Manchester City have had similar initiatives, the model has generally “struggled” to take hold in the UK.
READ MORE: £30bn investment and 5,000 jobs promised as government announces North East AI Growth Zone
“There is nothing like this elsewhere in the UK, let alone in the North,” Penelope Edmonds, Vice President – Corporate Development and Investments at ALK Capital, tells Prolific North.
Now, Burnley has revealed its intention to step into that gap.
“We want to move Burnley in a more tech-focused direction and we’re always trying to be the first movers in that space and introduce new technology into the club, whether that be on the performance side or operation side.”
A broader investment strategy
The launch of the Innovation Hub signals more than a one-off pilot programme, it’s a statement about ALK Capital’s broader direction under Alan Pace, the firm’s managing partner and Burnley’s chairman.
“We primarily invest in football clubs,” says Edmonds. “Alongside investing in football, from time to time, we make VC-type investments in early-stage companies such as a VR company called Rezzil, which we invested in a year ago. We have more of an appetite for that now as we grow and develop and we want to increase our deal flow.”
With that appetite to access promising early-stage businesses and “really get to know them and their product”, the Innovation Hub idea was born.
“We essentially said: ‘You’re welcome to come play in our sandbox, get access to our facilities, our people, our athletes, our data’. We trial your product. You get real feedback. And then hopefully at the end, there’s either a conversation about a longer-term partnership or investment, whatever that may be.”
After Burnley’s return to the Premier League this year, the club wanted to seize the moment and started to build out the programme just a few months ago before launching it in August.
The Innovation Hub is currently in the sourcing phase for the first wave of sports tech start-ups to join the programme, with applications open until 31 October. When applications close, the shortlisted companies will then be invited to pitch to ALK and Burnley FC’s executive team in a “Dragons’ Den-style” pitch event.
READ MORE: Meet the North’s ‘most prolific’ tech investor driving the ‘deep tech’ and life sciences boom
Over six months from December, the selected start-ups will work directly with club staff to test their solutions in live settings, gain structured feedback, and generate the traction needed to take their businesses to the next level. After the inaugural programme wraps up, there will be a review of how the pilots went and whether there is a longer-term investment opportunity.
“The bigger vision is for this to be a larger incubator with upfront investment, but that’s the future.”
A Northern commitment
The programme is open to sports tech companies across the UK and internationally, with a focus on two key areas: sports performance and fan experience.
“We want to find cool companies that are providing solutions that are either at a club level important to us, or ones that we see as scalable and innovative,” she says.
Unlike a traditional accelerator, the focus won’t be on mentoring founders but instead on plugging companies into its existing networks and connecting members with opportunities.
But it’s more than just a programme or a traditional accelerator, it’s a statement of intention from ALK Capital to invest in the North too.
“We see ourselves as custodians of a Northern club, committed to creating opportunities in the region that not only support our growth but also serve the community.
“If you could give me two or three companies from the North that could fit in our inaugural cohort, I would love that. That’s why we want to open up more conversations with people connected in the region. We want to elevate and increase those opportunities available to people in our area of the country.”
Edmonds herself moved to Manchester a year ago from her hometown of New York City. So, who are the people behind ALK Capital? The US investment firm was launched by a group with backgrounds working across Wall Street and the financial sector, plus sports operations.
It’s headed up by managing partner Alan Pace, who previously worked with Utah’s Real Salt Lake soccer team and was “always keen” to get involved in English football.
That ambition came to fruition in 2020 when ALK Capital bought Burnley. Pace is based full-time in the UK and is “very involved” in the club.
Since then, ALK Capital has overseen Burnley through promotions, relegations, and two returns to the Premier League, while laying the foundations for a broader multi-club model and a sports investment platform.
The Innovation Hub is a clear step into sports technology for ALK Capital and Burnley will serve as a “testbed” for start-ups to trial products, with the ambition to transform the town into a base for the next wave of sports tech. Start-ups can send in their applications to join the Innovation Hub here.
