Irish-founded performance technology company Kitman Labs has announced a major strategic alliance with Saudi-based innovation firm Xplere, strengthening its presence in one of the world’s fastest-growing high-performance sport markets.
The partnership brings together Kitman Labs’ global leadership in applied analytics, AI-driven talent systems and its iP: Intelligence Platform with Xplere’s deep regional expertise, cultural understanding and on-the-ground delivery capability across Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf region.
Founded in Ireland by former Leinster Rugby rehabilitation coach Stephen Smith, Kitman Labs has built a global reputation by working with leading leagues, teams, and high-performance institutions across multiple sports.
Smith, who was a guest on the Sport for Business Podcast last year, said the partnership is designed to ensure global best practice is delivered in a way that reflects regional ambition and context.
“Saudi Arabia and the GCC are building some of the world’s most forward-thinking high-performance systems,” he said. “Through this alliance with Xplere, we are offering federations and clubs a modern intelligence framework that supports long-term development, operational excellence and more informed decision-making, adapted to the unique needs of each organisation.”
Xplere’s leadership emphasised the importance of combining world-class technology with local understanding. Abdu Aljabarti, Head of Sports and Entertainment at Xplere, said the alliance ensures innovation is delivered in a way that aligns with the culture, structures and ambitions of Middle Eastern sport.
“Our role is to ensure that the most advanced performance technologies are implemented in a way that fits the practical realities of the region,” he added. “This alliance provides organisations with a complete intelligence capability, supported by strong local insight and delivery.”
MENA Performance Intelligence Alliance
At the centre of the collaboration is the newly established MENA Performance Intelligence Alliance, a commercial and methodological framework designed to support talent identification, athlete development, performance medicine and long-term competitive strategy.
The framework is designed to complement existing federation, governmental and regulatory systems, rather than replace them, offering enhanced insight, interoperability and operational efficiency. Capabilities available through the alliance include AI-enabled talent pathway modelling, integrated athlete development frameworks, cross-sport benchmarking, performance medicine intelligence, modern testing ecosystems and region-specific analytics.
Each solution can be tailored to the scale and priorities of individual federations, clubs or high-performance programmes, reflecting a growing shift away from one-size-fits-all technology deployments.
The alliance also enables access to a regional Performance Intelligence Network, supporting collaboration, benchmarking and long-term athlete tracking where organisations choose to participate. Governance, participation and data sharing remain fully controlled by each organisation, reflecting increasing sensitivity around data sovereignty and system ownership.
Sport for Business Perspective
The alliance reflects the continued internationalisation of Irish sports technology and analytics expertise, and the growing demand from governments, federations and clubs for long-term, data-led performance systems that extend beyond elite teams into national pathways, athlete welfare and system-wide planning.
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