Wanted: New technologies and products to improve performance and talent development

PSV Women distinguishes itself by having big dreams and inspiring different audiences through sporting achievements on the field, providing a stage for women and girls, and promoting health and diversity. 

In collaboration with High Tech Campus Eindhoven and BrabantSport, we are organizing this innovation challenge to find creative solutions that can help us accelerate our mission. 

We are seeking innovative and preferably tangible solutions (technology or product) for PSV Women, with a focus on optimizing fitness, identifying talent, using technology in coaching and training, and improving mental resilience and performance. We believe that organizations in the Brainport region can offer these solutions. Will you join us?

ABOUT US

PSV Women is a top team founded in 2012 with the same international ambitions as the men's team. PSV Women stands for professionalism, accessibility, and individuality. The team exudes energy and unity, and women's soccer has been fully embraced in Eindhoven. Our sporting goals are as follows: 

• Competing annually for the national title and/or the KNVB cup 
• Qualifying for the UEFA Women's Champions League and eventually reaching the group stage (with sixteen teams)

THE PROMISE 

On International Women's Day (March 8, 2022), PSV made a public promise for the women and girls from our region, from the Netherlands. This promise aligns with the club's ambitions for women's soccer. #DreamFurther 

The promise includes making PSV Women firmer and more visible than before, investing in talent and its own youth training, optimally facilitating the teams, and offering the teams within the club an equal stage. The club dreams of PSV Women having the same solid position in the soccer landscape as PSV's men's team. 

PSV is our home 
The Eredivisie title is our goal 
The Champions League, our ambition 
Together we are one 
Because unity makes power

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR 

We are seeking organizations that can help us discover, implement, and leverage new technologies and products. We are interested in solutions to one or more of the following challenges: 

1. Optimizing fitness: Improving the physical fitness of our PSV Women players to perform optimally during a full 90-minute match. What factors play a significant role in this? 
2. Talent Identification: Making the identification and selection of talented soccer players more efficient and accurate. What innovative methods and techniques can be applied here? 
3. Mental resilience and performance improvement: Enhancing the mental resilience and performance of our players, both individually and as a team. What techniques and approaches can be used for this purpose? 
4. Mapping learning ability: Developing metrics to measure and evaluate the learning capacity of players, with the goal of providing targeted support. This includes understanding the capacity of players to develop in different areas, and identifying effective approaches and strategies to improve their learning. 
5. Impact of menstrual cycle: Analyzing the actual influence of the menstrual cycle on the performance of PSV Women players and finding solutions to consider this in training sessions. 
6. Use of technology in coaching and training: Using technology more effectively to improve coaching and training. This includes exploring and implementing direct insights and applicable tools that technology provides, seamlessly integrating them into existing training methods. 
7. Club-wide aspects: Identifying possible adjustments in the club environment to improve performance. The goal is to improve club facilities, culture, and support to best meet the needs of players and contribute to their individual and collective performance.

NEED TO HAVE 

We have a few requirements for this innovation challenge:

• The innovation should aim to improve the performance of the PSV Women's team.
• The innovation should be practically applicable within the soccer context.
• The innovation should be (scientifically) substantiated and proven effective.
• The innovation can be developed into a proof of concept within 3 - 6 months.

NICE TO HAVE

• The innovation should be scalable and applicable in different contexts, such as the PSV men's team and other sports.
• The innovation should make the work of coaches and trainers more efficient.
• The innovation should provide insight into the performance of individual players and the team as a whole.

WHAT ARE WE NOT LOOKING FOR 

We are not seeking innovations that focus on things outside the context of soccer. We are not just looking for ideas; we are looking for organizations that can develop and implement them.

WHO IS THIS CHALLENGE FOR 

This challenge is intended for high-tech organizations (student teams, startups, scale-ups, SMEs, multinationals) from the Brainport Eindhoven region that are interested in offering a solution to improve the environment and/or performance of PSV Women as described above. 

Parties outside the Brainport Eindhoven region may also participate, but we prefer regional submissions.

WHAT TO WIN

• A budget of €15,000 to support the further development and implementation of the innovation. This money can be used for prototyping, testing, material costs, and further optimization.
• A testing and validation opportunity at PSV Women: The winning team will have the unique opportunity to test and validate their innovative solution in the actual context of PSV Women. This provides a valuable opportunity to put your innovation into practice and receive direct feedback from players, coaches, and experts within the club.
• Publicity surrounding the innovation challenge and follow-up process through PSV Women's and partners' channels.

YOUR PITCH (MAX 6 PAGES / 18 SLIDES) 

The pitch may be submitted in free form (presentation/slide deck, letter form), but must be uploaded as a PDF file (landscape or portrait A4) (max 30MB). Videos, sample websites, etc. can be included as links. Pitches in English are allowed. Please consider the following in your submission:

• Provide a brief explanation for each item listed using the evaluation criteria below, including a concrete description and additional information on scalability, impact, measurability, and cost.
• Describe what is needed to create a prototype and/or set up a test and what you need from us to do so. Include the support needs, access/materials/data needed, and the financial proposal for developing a proof of concept and, if successful, for the long term.
• Provide a brief description of the company and team planning to implement the pilot.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

• Concrete: Does the proposed solution meet the set requirements and guidelines of the innovation challenge?
• Relevance: To what extent is the proposed solution relevant to the specific challenges and needs of PSV Women?
• Originality: How innovative, original, and creative is the proposed solution?
• Implementability: How feasible and practical is it to implement the proposed solution within PSV Women?
• Potential for impact: What impact can the proposed solution have on improving PSV Women's performance and strengthening their competitive position?
• Measurability: Is the proposed solution measurable, and can its effects be objectively evaluated?
• Sustainability: To what extent is the proposed solution sustainable, both environmentally and socially?
• Scalability: Does the proposed solution have the potential to scale up and be applied in broader contexts or to other sports teams?
• Cost: How does the cost of the proposed solution compare to the expected benefits and results?
• Presentation and communication: How clearly and convincingly is the proposed solution presented, both in written documentation and in any oral presentations?

PLANNING

• Start of challenge - registration open:        July 24, 2023
• Q&A period via the website:                       July 24, 2023 - October 31, 2023
• Deadline for pitch submission:                   October 31, 2023
• Judging of entries by jury:                          November 1-17, 2023
• Announcement of top 3 submissions:        November 22, 2023
• Pitch event top 3 submissions:                  December 12, 2023 (11:30 - 13:00)
• Announcement of the winner:                    December 12, 2023
• Start of pilot, test, implementation:            Beginning 2024