Lucy Mills is the Founder and Chief Catalyst at Ready Sport Global, a digital innovation in sport consultancy that gets sport ready for the future. Prior to founding READY in 2022, Lucy worked in global football and social impact. She designed and led football programs in 30+ countries, including with FC Barcelona Foundation and 2010 FIFA Men’s World Cup social legacy. Lucy is a Professor of Sport & Innovation at Emlyon Business School and was honored with the 2023 Everything in Sport “Contribution to Education in Women’s Sport” Award for her Web3 education initiatives.

Topic: AI in Sport for Social Impact

Sport often reflects deeper inequalities in society, in access, visibility, and funding. The more resources a team or federation has, the better their chances of success. READY believes AI can help change that, but only if it is implemented with care, intention, and equity at its core. READY's AI division is dedicated to helping sports organizations move from AI curiosity to AI adoption. To date, READY has delivered AI training to over 3,000 sport industry professionals, including many in NGOs and grassroots sport, and has delivered AI readiness and integration in different sports and countries.

This session will explore how READY is using AI to support the parts of the sports ecosystem that are often underfunded but critical to social impact. Through case studies from the IOC’s Olympism365 Innovation Hub and other international sport for social impact projects that her company is working with, Lucy will share how AI is being used across the to support athletes and organizations and what the potential is to level the playing field.