COLIN Report: Bilbao Final Showcases Next-Gen Fan Experience

Bilbao, 21 May 2025 — A capacity crowd and a global TV audience of more than 100 million watched Tottenham Hotspur edge Manchester United 1-0 in the UEFA Europa League final at San Mamés Stadium, but for Collective Innovation (COLIN) the real drama began long before kick-off. Our delegation spent the day exploring the UEFA Fan Festival in Arenal Park and the technology showcases that ring-fenced the stadium, gathering insight into how digital tools are reshaping supporter engagement.

Innovation

Where we found it

Why it matters for fan engagement

AR “Lift the Trophy” booth

Official trophy stand, Fan Festival

Fans super-imposed themselves raising the Europa League silverware, generating instantly shareable social clips that drove organic reach.

5G-powered multi-angle replays

Telefónica demo zone

Handsets pulled low-latency feeds from 60 in-stadium cameras; spectators could rewind, pause and choose their viewpoint.

VR penalty-kick simulator

PlayStation activation

Immersive head-mounted display with haptic feedback let supporters “face” goalkeepers on the San Mamés pitch, queuing four-deep all afternoon.

Real-time match-up predictor

UEFA Data Centre kiosk

An AI model trained on Opta data invited fans to adjust tactical sliders and see win probabilities update live.

Cash-free “Frictionless” kiosks

Concourse Level 2

Biometric entry and computer-vision check-out halved queue times for food and drink.

Custom shirt printing via NFC

Adidas pod

Supporters tapped an NFC tag, designed a shirt on-screen and collected it within 15 minutes.

Data from Telefónica confirmed that mobile traffic around San Mamés spiked 143 % on match-day, underlining the appetite for connected experiences. Broadcasters, meanwhile, produced the game in 1080p50-HDR with Dolby Atmos, a first for a Europa League final and a signal of rising production standards.

Blueprint for event design— The multi-layered festival model shows how sport-tech start-ups can pilot products with guaranteed football.

Insight for the COMPATH Project—Universities offering degrees in XR design, AI analytics or broadcast engineering can position themselves as prime destinations for yuogn sport professionals keen to work in fan-engagement roles.

Result: Tottenham Hotspur 1–0 Manchester United

Scorer: Brennan Johnson (37’)

Attendance: 51 580

Venue: San Mamés Stadium, Bilbao

Spurs’ triumph ended a 17-year silverware drought, while United was left to rue missed chances in what many described as a tactical chess match.

For collaboration enquiries, please contact: hi@collectiveinnovation.no