Ter Stegen: 'Data helps us go a step further'

The second day of the Sports Tomorrow Congress, which is being promoted by the Barça Innovation Hub (BIHUB), featured the participation of Barça goalkeeper Marc-André Ter Stegen, who was the main speaker in a session moderated by Albert Mundet, director of BIHUB, on technology and sports.

The German stopper spoke about how the analysis of sports performance and the technology at athletes' disposal have evolved. From tools like VAR to systems that allow him to review his own work as a goalkeeper, Ter Stegen highlighted the importance of data in driving improvements: "Everything is data, and with that, we can make changes. Data helps us take things a step further."

He also emphasized the importance of video footage. And not only from matches but also from his recovery process after injury: "We use footage of my movements" he explained. "With the help of my coaches, I track my progress every week."

Ter Stegen also stressed the role of mental health in achieving sporting excellence: "Many things can affect performance, and it’s important to analyze them with a psychologist," he noted.

He concluded by revealing that he frequently uses AI tools like Perplexity and expressed his interest in entrepreneurship, which has led him to invest in cybersecurity projects.

Investments, Barça Mobile and Start-up Challenge

Throughout the day, various sessions were held on the latest trends in sports investments, covering topics such as corporate developments in the Persian Gulf, the interaction between brands and sports rights holders on a global scale, and discussions on cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence.

The latter had a guest speaker in Alex Starikov, head of Web3 solutions at WhiteBIT, a Global Partner of FC Barcelona, speaking about cryptocurrency and AI, while the presentation of the Barça Mobile project included contributions from Ruslan Bîlădeanu, CEO of New Era Visionary Group (FC Barcelona's Official Telecom Partner), and Míriam Ferrando, IT manager at FC Barcelona. The project aims to introduce a new approach to connectivity and data consumption for fans at Spotify Camp Nou.

There was also the latest edition of the Start-up Challenge, featuring 57 new firms, and five selected finalists: Turfcoach, KinetikIQ, JuniStat Corp., WEVOLV, and SentientSports. After presenting their ideas, a jury of innovation and entrepreneurship experts chose KinetikIQ as the winner. The company offers a real-time data solution to monitor muscle exercises and help prevent injuries.

The second session of the 2025 edition of the Sports Tomorrow Congress brought an end to another successful event, once again in association with the world's leading connectivity conference, the Mobile World Congress, to showcase the latest innovations in sports technology. Furthermore, this year’s congress served as a platform to share insights from a key strategic area of the club, the Centre for Sporting Excellence, which oversees the definition, development, and implementation of a high-performance model across all sports at the club and at both youth and professional levels.