PolarCool: Increasing performance and recovery in football

PolarCool

PolarCool is a company that provides advanced cooling solutions to treat concussion for a wide range of industries – first established in 2010 and based in Lund, Sweden

The PolarCap is PolarCool’s flagship product, a personal cooling system that uses evaporative cooling technology to provide instant relief from heat stress. The PolarCap is a headband that can be worn in a variety of environments, including sporting events, outdoor activities, workplaces, and construction sites.

PolarCool, in addition to the PolarCap, offers a variety of other cooling products such as cooling vests, cooling towels, and cooling fans. These products make use of cutting-edge cooling technologies to keep people cool and comfortable in hot environments.

Football is a sport that is known for its physicality and intensity – players are at a high risk of injury, including concussions. Concussions are a form of brain trauma that can have serious long-term effects if not treated properly. In recent years, there has been growing concern about the impact of concussions on athletes, and many organisations have been working to develop new strategies and technologies to help athletes recover from these injuries more quickly and effectively.

The PolarCap has been specifically designed for use in sports, and it is especially effective for football players. Football is a sport that requires a high level of physical endurance, and players are at risk of heat exhaustion and other forms of heat stress. In addition to its benefits for brain trauma recovery, the PolarCap also has a number of other potential applications in sports. For example, it can be used to prevent heat exhaustion and other forms of heat stress in athletes.

There is a growing body of research that supports the use of cooling therapy for the treatment of concussions. One study published in the Journal of Neurotrauma found that cooling therapy can reduce inflammation and improve neurological outcomes in rats with traumatic brain injury. Another study published in the Journal of Athletic Training found that cooling therapy can reduce the risk of second-impact syndrome, a rare but potentially deadly condition that can occur when an athlete returns to play too soon after a concussion.

Due to the positive results shown in the study, the Swedish Ice Hockey League (SHL) has formed a partnership with PolarCool, which ensures that a PolarCap is available at every arena in order to treat concussions.

PolarCool has most recently made waves in football by forming a partnership with the Football Association of Wales (FAW) along with various rugby clubs which include Racing 92, Stade Francais, London Irish, and Scarlets Rugby.

But the benefits of the PolarCap go beyond just preventing heat exhaustion. For athletes who have experienced brain trauma, the PolarCap can be an incredibly valuable tool in the recovery process. By reducing inflammation and promoting healing in the brain, the PolarCap can help athletes recover more quickly and effectively from concussions and other forms of brain trauma.

During one of Wales’ World Cup group matches, a Welsh player suffered a concussion after a speculative shot was blocked with the top of their head.

The player was subsequently treated using PolarCap thanks to the ongoing partnership between the FAW and PolarCool.

After Wales ran on-pitch tests, adhering to FIFA’s guidelines, the player was initially passed to play on before being subbed off 12 minutes later.

The player was then treated with PolarCap for the recommended time of 45 minutes to help reduce his elevated brain temperature and therefore relieve symptoms and potential long-term effects.

This partnership for PolarCool is another progressive step towards improved treatment of concussion incidents in football, an area of the game that has been under heavy scrutiny in recent years.

Aside from the health benefits of using PolarCap for players recovering from a concussion, professional clubs, and organisations can benefit financially from adopting PolarCap.

PolarCool conducted additional research based on the Lund University study’s 5-year clinical results to demonstrate the cost of concussion for sports teams and the financial benefits of using PolarCap.

According to the research, investing in PolarCap is cost-effective because it drastically reduces the injury sunk cost for teams and organisations. The annual injury cost savings for an SHL team were around $51,000.  The average savings for an English Premier League club were calculated to be approximately $257,000

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‘Wunderbar’ – FC Bayern turns to enterprise AI with Wonderful partnership

FC Bayern Munich is taking another step into the world of artificial intelligence after agreeing to a three-year global partnership with enterprise AI company Wonderful. The deal makes Wonderful the German club’s Official Enterprise AI Partner until 2029. The partnership will focus on putting AI into real-world use across Bayern’s operations, rather than limiting it to experiments or demonstrations.

AI to assists Matchday Fan Services

Wonderful’s first project will target one of the busiest and most varied areas of the club: matchday fan support. Specifically, initial implementation will be an AI agent designed to provide digital ticket support. Matchdays create a huge spike in demand for customer service for all manner of reasons: fans may struggle to access tickets, encounter account problems or need help with time-sensitive issues shortly before kick-off.

Bayern plans to use Wonderful’s technology to handle these requests faster than previously. Instead of each individual case entering a traditional support queue, the AI agent can process requests instantaneously, interacting with the club’s existing systems to hopefully resolve it. The aim is simple: get fans answers in moments, and into their seats!

The system will be integrated into Bayern’s existing technology environment – important as the AI will not operate as a separate chatbot disconnected from the club’s data and systems. It is being designed to work within the infrastructure Bayern already uses.

How Wonderful AI works

Wonderful describes its platform as an ‘enterprise AI system built to create, operate and improve AI agents.’ Those agents can perform tasks rather than simply generate text. They can work with company data, access connected systems and complete multi-step processes. The platform uses a system of reusable “skills”. Each skill can contain the instructions, tools, information and checks needed to complete a particular task. An agent can then use the appropriate skills depending on what a user needs.

For Bayern, that could mean an agent identifying that a fan has a ticket-access problem, retrieving the relevant information from the club’s systems and helping resolve the issue. Wonderful also connects its agents to existing enterprise systems. Its platform is designed to work with data platforms, customer relationship systems and other systems of record. This allows an agent to act on current information instead of relying solely on a static database.

More than a ticketing tool

Bayern and Wonderful have indicated further enterprise AI use cases will be introduced during the partnership. While customer support is an obvious starting point, AI agents could theoretically assist internal teams, automate administrative workflows or help employees find and process information.

Wonderful’s platform is designed to support customer-facing agents as well as internal and back-office workflows. It can operate across channels including chat, email and voice, giving the partnership room to expand beyond the first use case. The company also uses a deployment model built around teams working directly with organisations to put AI into production.

Bayern’s AI Strategy Enters a New Phase

The partnership signals a broader shift in how football clubs can use AI. Rather than focusing solely on analytics, Bayern is looking at AI as part of its everyday operations.

The first test will come through fan service. If the ticketing agent can reliably solve problems during the pressure of matchdays, the club will have a practical foundation for expanding AI into other areas. For the club, the biggest opportunity is therefore not one chatbot, but the creation of AI infrastructure that can support multiple parts of its organisation.

The three-year partnership gives the club and Wonderful time to develop that infrastructure. The first use case is focused and practical. The longer-term ambition is considerably broader. The next phase will be about proving that technology can make the experience better for fans while also making the organisation more efficient behind the scenes.

LaLiga and CANAL+ strengthen anti-piracy alliance across nearly 50 countries

LaLiga and CANAL+ have strengthened their partnership with a new anti-piracy agreement covering almost 50 countries. The deal spans Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa and Haiti. It brings together the league’s anti-piracy capabilities with CANAL+’s technology, intelligence and enforcement resources. The move reflects a growing commercial priority for sports rights holders. Protecting live content has become essential to protecting the value of broadcasting deals.

LaLiga and CANAL+ will share intelligence and coordinate their response to illegal distribution networks. They will also work on joint investigations and enforcement activity. The partnership builds on an existing relationship between the two organisations. CANAL+ distributes LaLiga content across multiple international markets. The new agreement now takes their relationship beyond broadcasting.

The partnership creates a joint focus on protecting the underlying value of the rights being sold. While broadcasters invest heavily in football rights, illegal streaming undermines revenue and weakens the commercial proposition of legitimate broadcasters.

LaLiga’s latest figures highlight the importance of audiovisual income to professional clubs. Broadcast revenue across Spanish professional football fell 5.2% to $2.3 billion (1.43 billion Euros) in the 2024/25 season. Commercial revenue reached $2.4 billion (1.58 billion Euros) and became the largest revenue source.

Piracy therefore represents a direct business risk. Illegal access can reduce the value broadcasters place on future rights packages, ultimately affecting the money flowing back into clubs and competitions.

LaLiga and CANAL+ are responding by pooling resources. For CANAL+, the agreement also protects its investment in international sports rights. The broadcaster operates in nearly 70 countries and has expanded its relationship with LaLiga alongside its international growth. For LaLiga, stronger enforcement can help protect the value of its global media proposition.

The partnership also carries implications for the wider sports industry. Rights holders increasingly need technology, legal expertise and cross-border cooperation to tackle illegal distribution. The message is clear. Winning a rights deal is only part of the commercial battle. Sports organisations and broadcasters must also protect the content once it reaches the market.

LaLiga and CANAL+ are betting that closer cooperation can make that protection more effective. This agreement may provide a model for other leagues and broadcasters facing the same challenge.

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