This mix of news, content, and case studies gives us a fantastic foundation to build on. We thank each and every one of you for supporting us on this journey.
Here’s to an even bigger 2022!
Best wishes,
Tal and the Zone7 team
1. Fast Growth Across Football
Zone7 continued to make waves in football (soccer), securing 10+ new partnerships across the UK, including teams competing in the English Premier League, La Liga, SPFL, and the EFL. Just last week, we also announced via LA Business Journal a new long-term agreement with Major League Soccer side LAFC.
2. Successful Series A Raise
Off the pitch, Zone7 completed a successful Series A capital raise in the summer, with backing from a host of talented venture partners across technology and sports. We couldn’t be happier to have such a decorated group of investors behind Zone7, as we maintain steady growth across teams, sports, and industries.
3. Getting to Work on the Gridiron
Zone7 officially entered American Football by partnering with three teams across the National Football League (NFL). Early partnerships are fundamental to our process of creating actionable and impactful insights for a new sport.
4. Collision Course with Rugby Union & League
Zone7 penetrated the highest levels of international rugby union by securing three new club partnerships across Pro14 and English Premiership Rugby. We also formed a working alliance with contacts sports specialist Richie Gray and GSI Performance.
5. New Horizons in the Healthcare System
Looking beyond sports, Zone7 launched early-stage use cases within the U.S. healthcare system, applying our human performance technology to support hospital staff working under intense conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and rising patient populations.
6. Mainstream Media Coverage
The Zone7 brand continues to thrive, thanks in part to quality earned media coverage across The Athletic, ESPN, Forbes, Marca, Sports Business Journal, Sportico, SportTechie, among others.
7. Championship-Winning Case Studies
Two ‘Zone7 teams’ won their respective league championships this season – a warm congratulations to both Rangers FC and Hull City.
We’ve published case studies on both teams’ campaigns and the role that Zone7 played. To read more, check out SPFL Champions // Rangers and EFL League One Champions // Hull City.
8. Leading the Way on Human Performance Insights
Zone7 established a working partnership with Leaders – the premium conference and subject matter platform for leaders in world sport – to collaborate on articles and events tailored to human performance specialists in 2022.
In addition, Zone7 Performance Director Rich Buchanan started his own column on innovation and best practices around human performance management. Check out his first thought leadership pieces below:
- The Importance of Responsible Innovation in High Performance Environments
- Making Sports Performance Innovation a Sustainable Success
9. Exciting New Arrivals
Speaking of Rich, Zone7 welcomed 10 new hires in 2021, expanding our team globally with employees in Palo Alto, Tel Aviv, the UK, Italy and Portugal, among which include:
- Rich Buchanan, Performance Director: Chartered Physiotherapist with an MSc in Rehabilitation, multiple sports performance certifications, and UEFA football coaching license.
- Henrique Ortigao, Sales Director: Six seasons as a sports scientist and strength & conditioning coach at S.L. Benfica and 7 years as a crucial member of Catapult’s growth team in EMEA and LATAM regions.
- Joseph Donkor, Sales Director: More than 15 years of football industry experience, including sales & operations leadership at Wyscout.
- Data Science and Engineering: We have doubled our team of data scientists and data engineers with some of the industry’s most talented engineers.
10. Blog Content is Booming
Last, but not least, Zone7’s blog continued to receive high interest and engagement from stakeholders. Check out some of our most notable pieces from 2021 below:
- The Cost of Injuries in The Premier League (Paul Macdonald)
- The Three Codes of Commercial AI Creation (Tal Brown)
- AI’s Ability to Disrupt the Sports Insurance Market (Andy Marston)
