UEFA Champions Innovate 2025 · Munich
How a Swiss start-up turned Munich into a city-wide pitch for the 2025 Champions League Final, with UEFA and adidas.
01
Every year the Champions League Final lands in one city for one night. UEFA's Innovation Hub asked start-ups what that night could leave behind.
Champions Innovate pairs UEFA's commercial partners with start-ups to solve a real problem set by UEFA and the host city.
“How can the UEFA Champions League final in Munich be used to promote healthier lifestyles among Munich's citizens and/or encourage greater participation in physical activity?”
“How can we effectively convert the excitement generated by the UEFA Champions League final by making more fans fall in love with practising football and sport?”
02
I was Project Manager for Equip Sport, working under UEFA's lead and in partnership with adidas.
03
Every hour of play became a memorable adidas experience. The Champions League ball, not just seen on a screen but felt at the feet of Munich's players, in their hands, and forever in their memory.
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Maya AngelouAmerican poet, memoirist, singer, & civil rights activist
04
Built in three workshops in Munich with UEFA, adidas, Mastercard, FC Urban and the city. Then, in the week of the Final, the pilot went on stage and onto the festival pitches.
05
adidas became the official equipment sponsor of Equip Sport in Munich: two years and counting.
The trade press read Munich as a model for Equip Sport's growth in Germany: “München dient dabei als Blaupause für weitere deutsche Städte.” Munich as the blueprint for other German cities.
SportWirtschaft Journal, 5 June 2025
The stations stayed on the city's courts after the festival came down, exactly the lasting impact Champions Innovate asked for.
After 24 days, before the Final had even kicked off: 1,450 people had used the stations for 12,000 hours of sport, and 85% said they would not otherwise have played without the equipment.
Source: UEFA.com, 2 June 2025
“We saw great potential in the initiative by Equip Sport, in partnership with adidas, which introduced a novel way to make football more accessible to new participants.”
“Providing our UEFA Champions League Knockout Phase Ball to try in Munich means every street becomes a stadium and everyone can experience the joy of sport.”
“As the Host City of the UEFA Champions League Final, the City of Munich is pleased to support the Champions Innovate Program and delighted with the success of the innovative solution, offering the citizens of Munich an additional way to play sports for free.”
“When we were kids, we always had to wait for our friend with the ball. Equip changed this, no more waiting around.”
“One time, we had a full game with random people just because we had a proper ball from Equip. It brought people together.”
“It's not just about showing the logo, you can feel they really want to make sport accessible to everyone.”
“Now we just show up, tap our phone, and we're ready.”
06
What UEFA, the city, the Bavarian FA and the press published. Every link opens the original.