Marco Materazzi is set to join the SiGMA World event, taking place at the Fiera Roma from November 02 – 05. The former professional football player will make a special appearance at the Rome summit as an ambassador for Bloko Padel Tour.
On the 4th, Materazzi will make his way to the Hall 9 court for the finals of the Bloko Padel Tour, where he’ll be the headline guest from 12:00 to 18:00. He’ll kick off the afternoon at the Hall 9 padel court with a meet and greet for Blokotech clients and sponsors of the Bloko Padel Tour finals. The afternoon’s entertainment will also include an energetic cheerleading performance.
After an exciting afternoon on the courts, Materazzi will hand out prizes to the winners of the Padel final. The footballing icon will also give out signed t-shirts to winners of a special LinkedIn competition, which is being held on the Blokotech stand. To participate, visitors to the stand will be able to scan their badge at the booth on the 3rd or 4th, and follow Blokotech on LinkedIN, with one lucky winner announced at 16:00 on the 4th.
Things come to close with a victory party in Hall 9.
Marco joins a long and memorable lineup of professional footballers who have appeared at previous SiGMA events. Household names, including Zinho, Diego Lugano, Ronaldinho, Luís García, Didier Drogba, Negrete, Ronald Lopes, Christian Karembeu, Claude Makélélé, Ludovic Giuly, Pierre Issa, Robert Pirès and Falcão have all made appearances at several global events, including SiGMA Africa and BiS SiGMA South America events earlier this year.
His presence strengthens the connection between professional sport and the gaming industry, which is growing ever stronger, opening up new opportunities to create and develop assets in prediction markets and IoT.
Sport and gaming: a partnership with eyes on the future
Materazzi serves as an ambassador for the Blokotech Bloko Padel Tour. This iGaming company develops modular solutions for casino and sports betting operators, with a strong presence in the LATAM region, as well as an end-to-end B2B platform for launching and scaling iGaming businesses there.
With over 14,000 games integrated from more than 90 providers, as well as numerous sports betting solutions, the company has implemented AI in its methods to personalise the user experience through behavioural segmentation and automated bonuses.
Bloko Padel Tour will take place during the event, with the ‘finalissima’ scheduled for Wednesday, 04 November, from 01:00 pm to 6:00 pm at the padel court in Fiera di Roma – Hall 9.
View the tournament agenda here.
Meet Blokotech at Hall 5 – Stand 5035. View the floor plan to discover everything Rome’s expo has to offer, from VIP lounges and food courts to multiple stages featuring content in both Italian and English.
Speaking to the SiGMA team, Salvatore Messina, CEO & co-founder at Blokotech, said that, “We chose to promote a padel tournament because – in recent years – it has proven to be a sport on the rise and one that’s open to everyone: much like iGaming, which is gaining traction across a wide range of player groups, regardless of age, location, culture or social background. iGaming gives anyone the chance to show off their competitive streak, which is why we chose Marco Materazzi: an athlete who never shies away from new challenges.”
Meet Marco Materazzi
Marco Materazzi, a former footballer who spent much of his career at Inter Milan and a legend of the 2006 World Cup, needs no introduction. During a professional career spanning over 20 seasons, he has distinguished himself for his remarkable aerial abilities in the air and free kicks, scoring a considerable number of goals for a player in his position; most notably, the header he scored in the 2006 final against the French team, as well as the penalty he converted in the final round, which helped secure the Italian national team’s fourth World Cup title. This makes him one of the most recognisable figures in Italian and world football.
“I’ve always believed the best things happen when passion meets competition. Padel has that same fire I found on the football pitch: intensity, teamwork, the will to win. I’m proud to be part of the Bloko Padel Tour in Rome,” commented Materazzi.
SiGMA World: the event in numbers
In addition to an opening day built around networking activities and early badge sign-up. Casual mixers, the expo and conference are being held at Fiera Roma. This vast exhibition space will bring together over 30,000 delegates, 1,000 exhibitors and 300 speakers for three days of networking, business and discussion on the industry’s most important trends.