Our project was selected for exhibition at the Dutch Design Week
SmartGoals, the interactive football training system developed by SPINNOV’s founders, has been selected for ID25, Eindhoven University of Technology’s exhibition celebrating 25 years of Industrial Design. The exhibition is part of Dutch Design Week 2026 and runs until 25 October in the Atlas building on the TU/e campus.
SmartGoals is one of 13 projects in Designing Designers, one of the exhibition’s five stories, which shows how the department has shaped generations of designers. It sits alongside work such as the Lightyear 0 solar car, the Hable One Braille controller and the Usono ultrasound probe holder.
Where SmartGoals began
SmartGoals started as the Master’s research project of Chris Heger, now co-founder of SPINNOV, at TU/e Industrial Design, coached by Mark de Graaf. The question behind it was both technical and practical: could a sports game run on a network of smart devices, with no central computer in charge?
Sjef Fransen, now SPINNOV’s co-founder and CTO, soon joined to develop the prototype, and SmartGoals was shown at Dutch Design Week for the first time. Seventeen years later, it’s back.
How SmartGoals works
SmartGoals are small, light-up goals that communicate with each other wirelessly and decide among themselves which one lights up next. Because players never know which goal comes next, they can’t learn a drill by heart. They have to keep their heads up, read what’s happening around them and make quick decisions, the same skills that decide real matches.
The system gives players signals and feedback, but no fixed rules. Coaches design their own drills, from warm-ups and passing exercises to positional games and agility tests, and can add goals, colours or time pressure during an exercise. Player results are stored in the SkillGames platform, so coaches can follow each player’s development over time.
From prototype to product
The idea gained support quickly. TU/e patented the technology, and its Innovation Lab and the City of Eindhoven supported the next steps. A company followed, VDL Groep invested, and design agency VanBerlo prepared the product for production.
When SmartGoals launched, AFC Ajax and PSV were its first customers.
SmartGoals today
Used by more than 2,000 clubs, from grassroots to Champions League clubs such as Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain
Clients across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, North America, Africa and Australia
Beyond football, used by the Dutch national field hockey team and the Dutch Marines
Winner of the National Sports Innovation Award
SkillCourts, the permanent outdoor installations that grew out of SmartGoals, won Sport Field of the Future and Sport Accommodation of the Year
Where SPINNOV began
SmartGoals was our founders’ first connected product. Bringing it to market meant combining hardware, embedded software, wireless connectivity and a cloud data platform into one product that works reliably on training pitches around the world.
That experience shaped what SPINNOV is today: a full-stack IoT and connected product engineering company based in Veldhoven, in the heart of the Brainport region. We take connected products from first idea to market, with electronics, embedded software, connectivity and cloud developed under one roof.
Visit the exhibition
Where: Designing Designers, Floor 8, Atlas building, TU/e campus, Groene Loper 3, Eindhoven
When: Daily 11:00–18:00, until 25 October
Entry: Free
Guided tours: Available on selected days; sign up via TU/e’s ID25 page
Read more about SmartGoals and the other projects on the Designing Designers page.