INNOVATION DAY with GENOA CFC
Beyond Visibility:
Creating Value and Automation in Football Partnerships
Deadline to apply: May 18, 2026
How can football clubs move beyond banners, LEDs, and manual sponsorship management?
Genoa CFC is opening its doors to startups ready to redefine how value is created, managed, and scaled in football partnerships. As clubs evolve into global media platforms, the challenge is no longer visibility—it’s how to unlock hidden assets, automate complexity, and prove real performance.
Background
As football clubs evolve into global media houses, the bottleneck for growth is often the limitation of "physical" inventory and the manual complexity of managing diverse partner portfolios. The Club is looking to move beyond traditional visibility. We aim to identify technology that can unlock "hidden" value within our ecosystem and provide a sophisticated infrastructure to manage every partner touchpoint—from the digital realm to the stadium
The Challenge
We are inviting startups to provide solutions focused on two strategic areas:
New Asset Creation:
Moving beyond banners and LEDs. We need tools that turn fan data, club content, or physical spaces into premium, trackable sponsorship inventory.
360° Partner Management:
A centralized "Operating System" to manage contracts, deliverables, and communication for both digital and traditional (physical/hospitality) assets, ensuring nothing is missed and value is always proven.
Specific Objectives
Inventory Expansion
Identify at least new types of digital or hybrid assets that can be sold to partners.
Operational Efficiency
Eliminate manual management for sponsorship fulfillment.
Proof of Value
Automate the collection of "Proof of Performance" for both on-site activations and digital campaigns.
Partner Retention
Improve the partner experience through professional, self-service management interfaces.
Possible use cases or applications
To unlock new revenue streams and improve operational efficiency, Genoa CFC will assess and implement advanced digital solutions that enhance how organizations manage partnerships, leverage data, and monetize their assets.
AI-Driven Performance & Decision Intelligence
Genoa CFC will evaluate and integrate AI-powered solutions that enable smarter, faster decision-making across commercial and operational areas.
Partner Management & Asset Optimization Tools
Genoa CFC will identify and deploy platforms that streamline partner management, ensuring full visibility over sponsorship performance and asset delivery.
Extended Inventory Monetization Platforms
Genoa CFC will explore platforms that enable organizations to commercialize their inventory beyond their immediate network, expanding reach and unlocking new demand sources.
Key Considerations
We also evaluate other forms of digital monetization beyond partnerships, creating scalable monetization opportunities for both local partners and major brands.
A space designed to spark meaningful opportunities.
What's in it for you
Real Challenges
Showcase how your solution helps Genoa CFC scale partnership value, improve operational efficiency, and enable new data-driven monetization models.
Direct Access
Connect directly with Genoa CFC’s commercial and digital teams to present solutions for partnership management, monetization, performance tracking, and proof of value.
Business Impact
Showcase how your solution helps Genoa CFC scale partnership value, improve operational efficiency, and enable new data-driven monetization models.
Previous Innovations Day
Over recent years, GSIC Innovation Days have become a core open‑innovation format, developed in collaboration with leading sports organizations worldwide. Through these initiatives, we work with federations, leagues, clubs, and global brands to address strategic challenges across athlete performance, fan engagement, data monetization, sustainability, health & wellbeing, and digital transformation. Partners include organizations such as FIFA, EHF, US Soccer, Cricket Australia, LaLiga Tech, Red Bull, FIBA 3x3, Sport Lisboa e Benfica, MARCA, and the Spanish Paralympic Committee.
Genoa CFC – Injury Prevention
Genoa CFC Innovation Day attracted over 30 applications offering cutting‑edge solutions in player health and injury reduction.
Grandvalira – Alpine Skiing World Cup: Fan Engagement
The event received more than 20 applications focused on transforming the fan experience at one of the world’s most iconic winter sports competitions.
Dinamo Zagreb – Sponsor Visibility & Analytics
With over 30 high‑quality applications, the event showcased breakthrough technologies designed to redefine how sponsorship is measured.
Success Story:
From Challenge to Collaboration
More than 50 startups had follow‑on engagements with Real Madrid Next, LALIGA, and Cricket Australia, showcasing how the program opens real pathways from innovation to collaboration with flagship organizations.