Scottish footballer Steven Naismith has provided a six-figure funding injection to a Glasgow-based sport-tech platform.
ScribePro is an app and online portal that records medical interactions in real-time for athletes and clinicians.
The former Scotland international and Heart of Midlothian player and manager, who also played for Rangers and Kilmarnock, will take on an ambassadorial role with the company. He will also consult on the technology’s future development.
The funding from Naismith will enable ScribePro to progress its expansion plans, which include increasing its market share and enhancing the platform’s features.
Recent additions to the software include custom reports that can be sent between national associations and clubs, while an upcoming update will include using data to provide average return-to-play timelines for specific injuries.
ScribePro was founded by Jonny Gordon, a consultant in emergency medicine and Scotland Men’s A team doctor, and David Lowe, an academic consultant in emergency medicine and co-director of EmQuire Research.
The duo teamed up with healthcare specialists to establish the company after identifying the need to modernise the paper-based systems used for team-managed sports.
Naismith said: “I’ve had a good relationship with Jonny for a long time, working with him right through youth and senior levels with the Scotland team and then into management and coaching.
“The demand on players has never been greater and the margins of winning are finer than they have ever been, which only makes products like ScribePro more important.
“Technology like this can make things better for everyone involved in sport. From my experience as a player – when I had some injury problems myself – I know the process of sharing or even accessing fitness and injury data could be clunky, to say the least.”
ScribePro is currently used by 11 national associations across football, rugby, and cricket, including the Scottish Football Association and Scottish Rugby Union. The team has also successfully delivered projects for the FIFA Club World Cup and the Rugby League World Cup.
Nine national football associations use the platform – including the Netherlands, Croatia, Denmark, the Republic of Ireland,and Northern Ireland – and the company recently signed its first partnership in American football.
Since its last investment round in 2022, ScribePro has grown from two contractors to a team of eight full-time staff and a 260% increase in the number of squads covered. The company also moved into new offices in central Glasgow to accommodate its growing team.
Jonny Gordon, CEO of ScribePro, said: “While football and rugby are our main focus, the technology can be used across any sport.
“Clubs and national associations across the world have been very receptive to using the platform and we have received fantastic feedback, which also helps to drive further development of the product.
“Steven’s investment and new role are testament to what we’re trying to achieve with ScribePro, making it the number one choice for digital medical management in sport.”
Theo Health signs up star golfer
Scottish entrepreneur Jodie Sinclair has signed up the US golf professional Xander Schauffele as part of a £1.2 million investment into her sports tech start-up Theo Health.
Ms Sinclair is now testing Theo’s Alpha Shorts on a hand-picked group of athletes, including Schauffele, to help prevent injuries and support recovery.
Her own football career ended when she ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament the week before starting university.
Schauffele, a two-time major winner who is competing in this week’s Scottish Open, joined Theo’s fundraising after the technology was reviewed by his personal trainer, David Sundberg.
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