Football Germany football team Partnerships SAP Soccer Sponsorship

SAP becomes official sponsoring partner of the DFB Academy

November 30, 2017

The DFB Academy and SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) have announced that SAP has become an official sponsoring partner of the DFB Academy.

The initial three-year agreement between the market leader for enterprise software and the academy of the German Soccer Association (DFB) will focus on joint innovation projects in the framework of the evolution of soccer in Germany.

The collaboration is set to concentrate on topics involving young talent support, match and practice analysis and expert training. As a DFB sponsoring partner, SAP brings years of experience in the areas of data analytics, evaluation of payer performance and technological innovations in football to the table.

Oliver Bierhoff, Project Manager, DFB Academy, said: “A core tenet of the academy is our desire to continue the evolution of German soccer, and we want to use the latest technologies to do so.

“Big Data analytics is becoming more and more important for soccer, and we want to apply it for our work. We are very pleased to have a strong partner like SAP, which stands for competency, innovation and modern infrastructure and technology. These are the characteristics we want to utilize to our benefit.”

Bernd Leukert, Member of the Executive Board of SAP SE and responsible for Products & Innovation, SAP, added: “Data analytics and performance improvements based on reliable information are decisive in all respects of professional sports.

“Together with the DFB Academy we will continue to work on innovations for soccer in Germany. With our expertise in the processing of mass data for match and practice analysis, we can deliver real added value to the DFB Academy in the areas of young talent support, talent development and player scouting.”

SAP has been an official premium partner of the DFB and its national team since 2013. Previous co-innovation projects have helped the team to victory at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the FIFA Confederations Cup and the UEFA European U21 Championship in 2017.

Football Germany football team Partnerships SAP Soccer Sponsorship