The beginning of March, 2025, was marked by a significant event in the tech world - Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. The event gathered industry leaders like Microsoft, Google, Orange, and Vodafone to showcase their latest innovations. Notably, FC Barcelona, alongside the Barça Innovation Hub educational platform, participated by presenting groundbreaking projects from the club’s managers and partners at the Sports Tomorrow Congress stand Mobile World Congress Mobile World Congress The Products and Concepts That Stole the Show MWC showcased a range of innovative devices that could one day reach consumers. Several eye-catching developments were displayed at company booths, drawing significant visitor interest. Samsung's display division unveiled several prototypes, including an asymmetrical Z Flip phone that folds in two places, leaving part of the screen visible. A standout was a Nintendo Switch-style portable console with a hinge for folding. Another highlight was Project Moohan—Samsung's first augmented reality (XR) headset built on Android. Developed in collaboration with Google and Qualcomm, it leverages multimodal AI to enable more natural, conversation-like interactions. Lenovo was not left behind: the company unveiled the ThinkBook Flip concept—a flexible OLED-screen device similar to the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6. Unlike its predecessor, however, the ThinkBook Flip’s screen remains static and folds backward. The device is set to launch in June 2025. Xiaomi, meanwhile, announced the global release of its 15 Ultra smartphone, bringing it to the UK and Europe in addition to China. The device features a 4.3x periscope lens and a 200-megapixel sensor with enhanced low-light capabilities—an unexpected but welcome surprise for many attendees. Xiaomi also introduced a modular optical system concept with a magnetic lens mount, offering 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. Joan Laporta Joan Laporta ‘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. ‘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.’ The growth and transformation of the sports industry require organizations 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 organizations, 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. Sport Tomorrow Congress Sport Tomorrow Congress Alex Starikov Alex Starikov ‘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’. ‘By 2026, 70% of top-tier European football clubs are expected to adopt blockchain and AI fan engagement tools’, report report It is worth noting that this figure looks quite realistic, given the number of current partnerships between sports organizations 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. according according 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 tokenization and digital goods. 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 tokenization 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 analyze data, interact with fans, and make decisions. They are significantly superior to chatbots as they provide a more advanced and personalized experience. It is also important that they can integrate with the blockchain, which allows them to perform tasks such as analyzing 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 analyzing 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 emphasized that the role of data is very important for implementing improvements, as it helps to move one step forward. The goalkeeper also emphasized the importance of video recordings, not only of the matches themselves but also of the recovery process after an injury. Marc-André ter Stegen Marc-André ter Stegen 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. Lead image source: Samsung Newsroom Lead image source: Samsung Newsroom Samsung Newsroom

This story contains new, firsthand information uncovered by the writer.

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Sports, Screens, and the Future of Fandom at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona

Sports, Screens, and the Future of Fandom at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona

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