Sofus Rasmussen, acting Secretary General at the Norwegian Association of University Sports: “You must morally justify flying in athletes, officials and spectators from all over the world, just for a few days of competition”

We’ve interviewed a wide range of people who work in the sports tech sector as part of this series, but Sofus Rasmussen marks a first. As the acting Secretary General at the Norwegian Association of University Sports, he isn’t selling a product: he is working on behalf of athletes, coaches and officials.

“Our vision is to ‘create the future of sports’, meaning that we constantly are looking for new and better ways to do things,” said Sofus. “In our organisation, nothing gets done because we always have done things this or that way.” And when it comes to sports technology, he’s always on the lookout for developments that can help young athletes.

That could be something as simple as video-conferencing tools that allow officials to have a virtual walk around a facility rather than visiting it in person. Or real-time translation apps that allow Sofus and his team to communicate easily with visitors, or when they’re visiting.

You’ll find out more in the full interview below, but before reading it’s worth understanding the scale of Sofus’ job. As well as being acting Secretary General, he’s also the head of Norway University Sports’s delegation in World University Games and Championships. And Norway University Sports has over 50 000 active students practicing sports throughout their local sport clubs in Norway.

And he has a lot of experience from international sport events. Earlier this year, Sofus led the organising committee of the 2024 World University Speed Skating Championship. For a view that spreads grassroots sport to the growing role of esports, read on.

Related reading: Khaldon Evans, Co-Founder and CEO of Ochy: “Building a solid foundation in both sports science and technology is crucial”

Tell us your elevator pitch

I’m passionate about combining sports and education from a holistic perspective to give student-athletes a healthy and meaningful start in their adult life. This could vary from elite sports to merely recreational.

Working with tomorrow’s employees and decision makers, we’re constantly challenged by our members on innovation and new practices. This makes for a super interesting workplace and certainly a challenging one. Needless to say, tech development plays a huge part in this innovation. We need to constantly work hard to stay up to date on several fronts.

It’s really inspiring to see how much competence there is among students and young leaders in sports. Our vision is to “create the future of sports”, meaning that we constantly are looking for new and better ways to do things. In our organisation, nothing gets done because we always have done things this or that way. Being on top of tech development is of course an important task within this vision.

What is it about sports tech that excites you? What made you get into this sector?

I’m really excited about the way technology is connecting the international world of sports.

Advanced platforms and tools are facilitating seamless interaction among athletes, coaches, and organisers, enabling real-time collaboration and feedback. Video-conferencing tools such as Teams and Zoom allow teams to communicate instantly, regardless of location, enhancing coordination and strategy planning.

No serious organising committee would do a mega event without a cutting-edge app with CRM, language tools, targeted marketing and several other features. Working a lot with mega-events, this type of technology certainly has revolutionised the way delegations do on-site strategy and management. The efficiency makes for more time around the athletes and closer to the sport, which is a win-win for everyone. It also lays the foundation of how international sports can work more sustainability. I think this will be one of the biggest challenges for international mega-events in the future.

There’s so much of the preparation you can do digitally now, and we’ve probably just scratched the surface. Virtual venue inspection, online accreditation systems and digital HOD meetings to name a few. This will without a doubt help us collectively to limit the carbon emissions of international sports.

You must morally justify flying in athletes, officials and spectators from all over the world, just for a few days of competition. There’s no doubt that we must do what we can for the environment in any other way. Digitalisation will play a huge part here.

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Can you give an example of a complex problem in sports that you – or your company – have been involved in tackling with technology?

Probably the most common challenge in international sports events is information management often enhanced by a language barrier. You always need specific information regarding some logistical issue, and you need it fast.

We travelled to China a couple of times last year, and with the new cultural- and language-bridging concepts, we were able to communicate brilliantly throughout the events.

The translator technology from apps is finally starting to get very precise. This is great news for all sports events with participation from all over the world. The best organisers also facilitate multilingual support, which is extremely convenient for all HODs (Heads of Delegations).

Another consequence of language bridging is that you actually get more of the cultural exchange from other nations as well, which makes the entire experience even better. I still stay in touch with some of the Chinese friends we made last year, which wouldn’t have happened several years ago.

Do you consider esports as part of your remit? If so, why?

Esports is currently not a part of the umbrella organisation of Norwegian Sports as we are. The problem with Esport (in Norway) is that its commercial ties can get in the way of the actual sports discussion.

The betting sponsors and money prizes are not in line with the policies of the Norwegian Sports Federation and the government funding, which makes the esports non-compatible for being organised within the Federation. It’s a shame because we really need the discussion of what constitutes a sport and how this looks in the future.

It’s an easy way out for all the “old-school” sports politicians who don’t consider it an actual sport. Personally, I think Esports could need some regulation, especially for the youngest athletes. The commercial powers are somewhat scary strong, so I think it would be wise to protect the youngest kids from some of these aspects.

The sudden explosion of esports brings a lot of non-sport-related questions as well. I think it’s a good way to keep us focused on adapting the new ways of sports, but we need to make sure it doesn’t get over-political too fast. I know from our members that several clubs would like to see Esports organised as a sport here in Norway.

Related: Anders Tånger, CEO of Photon Sports: “What fascinates us the most is when technology goes unnoticed”

What do you believe is the biggest opportunity in sports tech right now?

I think the opportunities are both many and huge, but I believe club management in the local sports clubs might be the biggest one. It involves so many people so many places, and in most countries, these are volunteers. Having precise CRM systems, digital accounting, digital tools for file sharing and newsletters, membership management and registration systems is revolutionising the everyday lives of local club leaders.

We know that many countries are struggling to hold on to their volunteers, which makes the sports movement vulnerable in many settings. Giving the local clubs these tools can make them more efficient, and well-driven and strengthen the financial situations. If utilised properly, the digitalisation of local clubs can result in the need for fewer volunteers and focus the tasks on activities and less administration. This also puts pressure on governing bodies to be able to teach volunteers and club leaders these tools, which is an insightful challenge for us.

When it comes to technology, what are the most common mistakes you see sports organisations make?

In sports, technology is part of a solution to make processes easier, more efficient, and simpler. Too often I see technologies being overcomplicated and trying to solve issues that are not even there.

I’ve been working with organisational development with local sports clubs for several years, and many of them have felt that many systems are focusing on the wrong functionalities. Trying to make the systems super fancy and with too many features can easily become too confusing for club managers to use.

And let’s face it, a lot of volunteers are a bit older than the students we work with. I’m not jumping to any conclusions here, but there’s a difference in digital competence out there, and the tech companies must remember that.

Focusing on what the product is going to solve would be the main key here, and don’t lack customer iteration. The marker is what the local clubs need, which in my opinion is elegant simplicity, don’t overthink it.