The beginning of March was marked by a significant event in the tech world — Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. The event brought together leading companies such as Microsoft, Google, Orange, Vodafone and others to present their latest developments and innovations. In particular, among the participants was FC Barcelona, together with the Barça Innovation Hub educational platform, which presented innovative projects by the club’s managers and partners at the Sports Tomorrow Congress stand.
The Products and Concepts That Stole the Show
Many innovative devices were presented at MWC, which may one day end up in the hands of consumers. In particular, a number of developments could be seen at the stands of companies that attracted the attention of many visitors.
For example, Samsung’s display division demonstrated several new prototypes, including the asymmetrical Z Flip phone, which folds in two places, leaving the middle of the screen visible. The most interesting novelty was a Nintendo Switch-style portable console that has a hinge in the middle to facilitate folding. One of the hits was Project Moohan, Samsung’s first ever augmented reality (XR) headset based on Android. The development, created in collaboration with Google and Qualcomm, uses multimodal artificial intelligence technology to make interactions more natural and conversation-like.
Source: Samsung Newsroom
Lenovo also did not stand aside: the company introduced a new ThinkBook Flip concept with a flexible OLED screen similar to the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6. However, unlike its predecessor, the ThinkBook Flip screen is static and designed to be folded back. The device is expected to go on sale in June 2025.
As for Xiaomi, the company announced the launch of its 15 Ultra smartphone not only in China but also in the UK and Europe. The novelty is equipped with a 4.3x periscope lens and a 200-megapixel sensor with improved low-light capabilities, which came as a pleasant surprise to many visitors of the exhibition. In addition, Xiaomi introduced the concept of a modular optical system with a magnetic lens mount, which is a standalone camera with a sensor larger than most smartphones.
Cultural Changes in Fan Communities Driven by Crypto and AI
As part of the Mobile World Congress (MWC), Barça Innovation Hub also hosted the two-day Sports Tomorrow Congress event, where doctors, physiotherapists, analysts and other experts shared their experiences and discussed the latest developments in sports, research and development.
In particular, Albert ‘Chapi’ Ferrer, former FC Barcelona player and coach of the Barça Legends team, spoke about the development of football over the past decades and new directions in the industry, noting that it has become an integral part of the entertainment industry. At the same time, FC Barcelona women’s goalkeeper Cata Coll spoke about how modern devices such as WIMU, heart monitor belts and biometric rings help athletes monitor their body condition and regulate their workload.
The speech by FC Barcelona President Joan Laporta, who reminded the audience of the importance of the club’s roots and values, which are at the heart of its identity, was not left unnoticed. According to Laporta, they help Barça to remain true to itself despite the challenges of the modern world. The club’s president also mentioned BIHUB’s commitment to the start-up industry and called it a winning combination that allows it to be at the forefront of innovation without losing its essence.
‘Now is the right time to reimagine the future. The club must redefine itself to meet the expectations of global markets and fan communities while staying true to who we are.’ said Joan Laporta.
The growth and transformation of the sports industry requires organisations to adopt new approaches to attract investors and engage fans. As a result, fans have moved from the usual sports experience of watching matches to new formats of interaction that embrace the latest technologies. In particular, the development of crypto and AI has opened up new horizons for sports organisations, encouraging them to create interactive experiences for fans and attract new investments. The cultural changes that the fan community has undergone under the influence of cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence were discussed at Sport Tomorrow Congress by Alex Starikov, Web3 Solutions Lead at WhiteBIT.
‘By 2026, 70% of top-tier European football clubs are expected to adopt blockchain and AI fan engagement tools’, said Alex Starikov, referring to the Deloitte report ‘2024 Sports Industry Outlook’.
It is worth noting that this figure looks quite realistic, given the number of current partnerships between sports organisations and crypto companies. For example, according to CoinGecko’s 2024 report, there were more than 40 active partnerships at the time, most of which were football clubs. This fact indicates that such collaborations are not only gaining momentum and expanding the capabilities of both industries, but also changing the way fans interact with them.
In particular, Alex Starikov highlighted several trends in football fan communities:
Social networks (TikTok, Telegram, X, Discord) are becoming the main ‘hubs’ for the community
VR and AR open up new opportunities for fans by creating a unique experience
NFTs and crypto assets are gaining popularity in fan communities thanks to tokenisation and digital goods.
Separately, he noted the role of artificial intelligence. For example, according to Starikov, AI agents and chatbots have become powerful tools to improve fan engagement, while AI-based analytics allow for more efficient match prediction and deeper analysis.
In particular, the speaker highlighted the potential of AI agents — autonomous programs that can analyse data, interact with fans, and make decisions. They are significantly superior to chatbots as they provide a more advanced and personalised experience. It is also important that they can integrate with the blockchain, which allows them to perform tasks such as analysing match data, interacting with dApps, making transactions, and even launching tokens. This creates new opportunities to engage fans by providing them with an interactive experience.
An important point of the presentation was the discussion of the integration of blockchain into football clubs, where they can become ‘guardians’ of digital infrastructure. According to Starikov, clubs can take part in the so-called digital revolution, which ensures the security of the blockchain. By integrating blockchain into their operations, they can also generate revenue from each transaction and distribute a portion of it in the form of digital rewards for fans.
The event concluded with a landmark session by Barça goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen on technology and sport. The German goalkeeper shared how the process of analysing sports results has changed and what new technologies are available to footballers today. He spoke about tools such as VAR and systems that allow goalkeepers to review their own performance. Stegen emphasised that the role of data is very important for implementing improvements, as it helps to move one step forward. The goalkeeper also emphasised the importance of video recordings, not only of the matches themselves, but also of the recovery process after an injury.
As a final note, Marc-André ter Stegen admitted that he often uses artificial intelligence tools, including Perplexity, and expressed his interest in entrepreneurship, which led to his investment in cybersecurity projects.
To sum up,
The MWC has once again proved that technology is changing not only gadgets, but also the way we interact with sports, business and even communities. There are even more innovations ahead, and who knows — maybe next year we will see even more futuristic solutions.
