About Powerplay One
Welcome to Powerplay One, where we empower sports businesses to navigate the evolving digital landscape with confidence. No matter their size, location, or budget. Powerplay One publishes the knowledge, delivers the advisory, and builds the technology that turns their ambition into measurable results.
Powerplay One was initiated by Nils Sterenborg based on a simple observation: sports organizations don't lack ideas - they lack a repeatable system to turn innovation, data, and technology into measurable results.
Three years were spent building that system from the ground up working hands-on with clubs, events, leagues, and investors.
Powerplay One Services
The Approach
A systematic roadmap for innovation in spectator sports.
No matter your goals, location, or budget.
With our Sports Innovation Alignment Framework innovation feels doable not overwhelming.
First we get aligned, then we get moving.
Phase 1
Inspire & Assess
We figure out where you want to go and where you are right now.
Dream: We help you picture your ideal future, starting from what makes your fans care, not from technology.
Reality-check: We look at your team, your fans, your partners, and your tools to get an honest starting point.
Phase 2
Plan & Design
We turn ideas into a clear action plan.
Pick what matters most: We score every idea on impact, effort, and fit, so you invest in the right things first.
Map it out: For each project, we define what success looks like and decide what to build, buy, or partner on.
Grow your team's skills: We help your people learn to work across teams, use data, and think fan-first.
Phase 3
Execute & Evolve
We make it happen and keep getting better.
Start small, learn fast: We test ideas quickly with real fans before going big.
Never stop improving: Instead of a one-time plan, we set up a system where every project teaches you something that makes the next one easier.
Case Studies
More fans. More sponsors. Lower costs. Higher reach.
Here's what happens when sports organizations stop guessing and start innovating with a system.
Storytelling that multiplies reach and sponsor interest
Sports:
Rugby
A rugby club grew its visibility and made its story investable for sponsors. Applying our "Rule 7 - Influence" and story frameworks, we helped the club develop a weekly behind‑the‑scenes format built around the team captain, with clear narrative arcs, publishing cadence, and simple metrics. The series turned into a breakout asset: social audiences surged and sponsors finally had a reason to pay for attention.
+2 new sponsors signed
+400% growth in social following during the season
Fixing the data foundations for
new ticket revenue
Sports:
Basketball
A regional basketball club with a familiar problem: fan data scattered across spreadsheets and inboxes. Using our assessment and roadmap approach, we mapped their current reality, defined minimum viable data standards, and supported the implementation of a single CRM / Fan-Hub as the club’s digital backbone. With clean data in place, we co-designed the club’s first coordinated digital ticket campaign, using PPO-style logic on audience segments and messaging.
+31% online ticket sales
+54% email click‑through rate after CRM cleanup
Turning
“community first” into sponsorship growth
Sports:
Handball
A handball club turned its community ambitions into a concrete innovation strategy. Through consulting sessions based on "Rule 2 - Direction: Start From Your Core”, the leadership team defined “community first” as the club’s guiding principle, identified core values and gravitational drivers and used our templates to filter every digital initiative through that lens. We then helped the commercial team craft sponsor propositions directly linked to visible neighborhood impact, leading to a step‑change in local sponsorship.
+2.3x local sponsorship revenue
+87% sponsor renewal rate on “community first” packages
Meet the Leadership
Behind Powerplay One is a team that has led sports innovation inside global tech companies, built transformation programs for top‑tier leagues and brands, taken complex products from first prototype to commercial scale, and pioneered AI in professional sport. They're not tech people guessing about sports, they're sports innovation veterans with the engineering backbone, commercial instincts, and global network to make it work.
Nils Sterenborg,
Strategy and Services
The systems thinker who built the playbook. Designed innovation blueprints for world‑class leagues, federations, and elite clubs. Built and led a multi-million dollar business unit in sports technology. Authored two defining books on sports innovation. Turns complexity into repeatable frameworks that any club can follow.
Saskia Wichert,
GTM and Operations
The operator who connects worlds. Shaped global campaigns and transformation programs for top sports brands, leagues, and clubs. Ran one of Europe's most prominent community‑rooted football clubs as CEO. Moves fluently between boardrooms, brands, and grassroots - making sure strategy actually lands in the market.
Boris Juric,
Sales and Customer Success