Wales Business, International Stephen Farrell

Welsh start-up have been invited to enter a competition to pitch to leading figures in the sports, technology, investment and academic sectors, ahead of the UEFA Champions League final in Cardiff.

Cardiff University is partnering HYPE Foundation on an exhibition and competition in the run-up to the 3 June event.

HYPE, a global platform connecting and investing in sports innovation, will work with the university and a panel of expert judges to crown the most innovative sports start-up.

At the HYPE SPIN final, ten companies pitch their sports innovations to leading figures from top sports and tech brands, investors and academia. The jury will include Laura McAllister, professor of public policy at Cardiff University's Wales Governance Centre; Bernd Wahler, Ex-Adidas chief marketing officer and VfB Stuttgart president; Ignacio Mestre, chief executive of the FC Barcelona Foundation; Guy Laurent Epstein, UEFA marketing director; and Sébastien Audoux, head of sports digital contents at Canal+.

Amir Raveh, HYPE Foundation's chief executive, said: "HYPE is excited to initiate its Wales SPIN Final. We recently staged a final in Philadelphia for the NFL Draft, which received worldwide exposure, and we hope to replicate that success in Cardiff ahead of the UEFA Champions League Final – one of the greatest events in the 2017 sporting calendar.

"Our mission is to impact the world of sports through innovation and we are thrilled to collaborate with Cardiff University to discover the products with promise that the participating start-ups will develop during the competition."