Ispo Brandnew, purportedly the “world's largest and oldest international start-up competition in the sports business,” is celebrating its 20th anniversary by providing a total of €400,000 in start-up funding. This will be divided into 50 “support packages” of €25,000 each. In addition to the funding, these packages will provide booth space in the Brandnew Village at Ispo Munich 2020 and access to the Ispo Network, for crowdsourcing, market research, help entering the Chinese market and coverage through Ispo's media channels. Registration is free and open until Oct. 11. To be eligible, nominees must be sports-business brands that will have been operating no longer than four years at the time of Ispo Munich 2020 – scheduled for Jan. 26-29 – and have never exhibited at Ispo Munich. The brands can be for physical products or digital services that “facilitate access to sports, support the sports experience or simplify it – for individuals or groups.” This year, there will be no established categories for nominations. Instead, the jury – composed of entrepreneurs and former participants in Ispo Brandnew – will be identifying trends in the industry by devising categories to reflect the nominations received. The jury will make its selection in late October, with the nominees informed in early November. The winners will be “incorporated into planning for Ispo Munich 2020 with the ISPO Brandnew team” and then make a public pitch before the jury at the show, to compete for the title of overall winner. There are further details online. This year's show will also include a Networking Night, allowing the staff of the start-ups to talk with investors, partners and former winners. Ispo Brandnew has in the past supported such brands as GoPro, NaishKites and On Running.

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