Sergi Broto is the technical director and co-founder of FootballAim, a company he leads with another three founder members: Eric Borland, Emilio Gómez and Manel Martínez. He graduated in Computer Engineering at Pompeu Fabra University (2014) after studying for a year in the United States. He is in charge of designing the platform and developing new functionalities.

— What does FootballAim, the technology you have developed, consist of?

FootballAim is a web application used by coaches and football clubs to simplify their daily tasks. On the one hand, this allows coaches to have a digital whiteboard on which to design the exercises for training sessions, and on the other, it allows sports coordinators and directors to view them and give their feedback on the sessions created in order to ensure that the methodological goals planned by the club are fulfilled.

This creates a database of thousands of sessions that can be reused by all the club coaches and generate expertise that is not lost over time. Automating repetitive tasks with a user-friendly interface allows coaches to put pen and paper to one side and focus on improving training sessions, which translates into better performance by the players.

“A database of thousands of training sessions is created that can be reused by all the club coaches and generates expertise that is not lost over time”

In addition, there are sections of statistics (which display attendance at sessions, the minutes and matches played, the events followed during the matches, etc.); scouting or collecting information for later analysis (in which the scouts create reports on players they find of interest to the club); marketplace (in which specific planning and training sessions can be bought), and a new administration module that allows the club to direct debit the players’ fees and follow up their status.

— How did you come up with the idea to create this application?

The CEO of the company and old friend of mine, Eric Borland, was a football coach at the Vilassar Sports Centre, where each week he had to submit the training sessions, the players’ minutes and a scouting report on the rival team. He quickly realized that he needed the support of a tool that would facilitate this process, and could not find one on the market that lived up to his expectations. At this point, he began to develop the tool. Later, Emilio Gómez joined the project since he was basing his end-of-degree project on FootballAim. When they saw it was a success with the clubs and that it had a promising future, they contacted me to join in the development and marketing of the tool.

— What steps have you taken to get where you are now?

First, we made sure that there were people interested in paying for the service we were offering. An idea for the market is consolidated when someone is willing to pay for it. Seeing that there were needs to satisfy, we began developing new features to cover them. This allowed us to know the clubs’ point of view, to precisely define the product and validate the idea. The time came when we needed funding, which we found in private investors and an ENISA (Empresa Nacional de Innovación, S.A.) loan. The investment and the turnover we had during that time have enabled us to get here.

“An idea for the market is consolidated when someone is willing to pay for it. Seeing that there were needs to satisfy, we began developing new features to cover them”

— And what is the most relevant aspect concerning the support you have found in the University?

The University has given us the tools to be able to resolve any conflict that arose. Also, the Innovation Unit-UPF Business Shuttle has given us support and has invited us to several investment forums.

— What would you feel most proud of?

The fact that we have been able to innovate and revolutionize such an archaic field as football. There are many historical clubs in which the methods have become outdated, and we are trying to improve them by applying technology. We know that the players’ performance improves when there is prior work by the coach and the club, and we have equipped them with a tool that greatly facilitates this task.

“There are many historical clubs in which the methods have become outdated, and we are trying to improve them by applying technology”

— What are the challenges you are considering for the future?

We want to continue expanding in the United States, which we are currently doing with the help of David Villa, a new partner in the company. We also want to expand the business to other countries where football is widely played, such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy. In addition, we are developing the native application for mobile devices.

— What would you recommend to a novice in business?

We would recommend that they should try to validate their idea in the initial phase of the project, and not to be reluctant to change it if they see that there is a need that is more suited to the market.

— What is/are your favourite team/s in this World Cup?

Personally, I really like the French squad, because despite having young players, it has great potential and experience, which are essential for success in a World Cup.

— Out of curiosity, do play regularly in any football team?

We have spent all our lives playing football and five-a-side, although now only Manel still plays competitively.

— As an expert and fan of this sport, what do you think is most important about the World Cup 2018? 

I believe that the implementation of VAR during the World Cup is being quite positive. Technology should be used to make our lives easy so why not in football too? It’s helping referees to interpret some aspects of the game that are difficult to judge instantly, and although there are people who say that this takes the magic out of football, I think it will add its grain of justice that has always been missing. However, it’s still up to the referee to consult VAR or not and so the debate continues.

Social Networks

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/footballaim_
  Twitter Sergi Broto: https://twitter.com/brotodex

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/footballaim.footballaim/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/footballaim/

Explanatory video of the app