The Allan Labor Government is backing a leading UK sports technology company to establish its Asia Pacific headquarters in Victoria, bringing its cutting-edge technology to the AFLW and strengthening Victora's status as Australia's sporting capital.
Minister for Economic Growth and Jobs Danny Pearson yesterday visited Sportable's new headquarters and Centre of Excellence in Collingwood, which will create up to 20 highly specialist jobs in software development, hardware engineering and client delivery.
Sportable's 'Smart Ball' technology provides real-time information about a ball's movement during a game, enhancing fans' experience and ensuring every close scoring shot and line call is correct.
Following the introduction of its Smart Rugby Ball in England, France and Australia, Sportable worked in conjunction with the AFL to develop the Smart Sherrin over several years and successfully introduced it in the 2024 NAB AFLW season. The Smart Sherrin has assisted with more than 2,000 score reviews in the 2025 season.
In addition, the Centre for Excellence is now the global head office for Sportable's visualisation division, drawing on Victoria's world-class talent pool to develop and provide systems and solutions for officiating and high-performance assessment, along with exciting fan engagement content for sports globally.
This work is provided by Sportable out of the Collingwood headquarters for the NAB AFLW competition, as well as for competitions including soccer, volleyball, rugby union and American football across the UK, Europe, Asia and North and South America.
Home to Aussie Rules and world-class sporting events like the AFL Grand Final and the Australian Open, Victoria is the perfect location for the new centre. The facility will drive research and development to expand the unique technology into sports around the world.
Founded by rugby players and NASA engineers in 2019, Sportable developed the world's first 'Smart' rugby ball, by placing a microchip inside the ball and coupling with on-field ball tracking technology.
The arrival of Sportable in Victoria will drive innovation and boost capabilities in the state's growing sports tech industry, which is home to 39 per cent of the nation's sports tech companies.
As stated by Minister for Economic Growth and Jobs Danny Pearson
"We've scored big with Sportable establishing its Asia-Pacific home in Victoria - Australia's sporting and sports tech capital."
"We proudly backed Sportable to expand in Victoria because it will help grow our local expertise, drive innovation and create jobs in our thriving sports tech sector."
As stated by Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos
"As Australia's sporting capital and the home of the AFL, this is a big win for Victoria's sports fans, players, leagues, coaches and broadcasters."
As stated by Member for Northern Metropolitan Enver Erdogan
"Sportable's new Collingwood base is a big win for local jobs and further cements Victoria's place as Australia's sporting and innovation capital."
As stated by Sportable Chief Business Officer Managing Director - Asia Pacific Greg Bassar
"The support of the Victorian Government was instrumental in our decision to establish our Asia-Pacific headquarters in Melbourne and open our Centre of Excellence. Victoria is home to not only a world-class pool of talented professionals, but also has the infrastructure to allow us to deliver industry leading solutions to partners globally, all from our offices in Collingwood."
