The following article was produced in partnership with Hublot.
2023 is a special year for football (or soccer, whatever you prefer to call it). The world game has never been more popular across the globe – especially in Australia, where it’s enjoying an unprecedented groundswell in support.
The timing couldn’t be better, too, with Australia and New Zealand hosting the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, arguably the most-anticipated event in the women’s game ever. The mood in Australia right now is electric: everyone’s got soccer on their minds… And now, they might have Hublot watches on their mind, too.
Hublot, of course, has been one of the world’s biggest supporters of football. Traditionally, luxury watch brands have stayed away from football, instead choosing to throw their weight behind more individual (or dare we say upper-crust) sporting pursuits – tennis, athletics, motorsports, and so on. But Hublot’s cut from a different cloth.
Ever a disruptor, Hublot changed the game by being one of the first luxury brands to really throw their weight behind football, and is now the official timekeeper of the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA European Championship, the English Premier League and the men’s UEFA Champions League… And, of course, the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Hublot is now recognised as the first name in elite football timekeeping – if you’re watching a game of football, there’s a good chance you’ll see a Hublot timing clock or substitution board. It’s arguably become a signature of high-level football, seeing that Hublot clock. But this FIFA Women’s World Cup, you’ll see even more Hublots on display…
At this year’s tournament, there will be 107 match officials (33 referees, 55 assistant referees and 19 video match officials) – 94 of whom are women – and each of them will be equipped with Hublot’s Big Bang e, a high-powered luxury smartwatch that fuses the brand’s flagship Big Bang watch design with cutting-edge materials and the latest connected technology.
This special edition, which was designed exclusively for football officials, features a number of unique functions created to help them during the course of a game, such as monitoring yellow cards and added time at the end of the game. It’s an invaluable tool to help the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand run smoother than any previous World Cup.
Thankfully, you don’t need to be a FIFA referee to take advantage of this cutting-edge tech. The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 app will be available for download to all owners of the Big Bang e Gen 3 through the Google Play store, bringing all the action of the game to the wrist. The fan edition keeps track of every match with score updates delivered straight to the wrist in real-time – which is great if (like me) you weren’t fast enough getting tickets to all the best games…
“This is the most exciting season in women’s football,” Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe relates.
“It brings everyone at Hublot enormous pride to be serving as the tournament’s Official Timekeeper. Hublot will keep track of every minute of every match, feeling every breath, sensing every moment, from first to final whistle. As ever, in the spirit of being first, different and unique, Hublot was the first luxury Swiss watch company to enter football and we continue to throw ourselves into developing it, particularly the women’s game.”
Ricardo Guadalupe, Hublot CEO
Find out more about Hublot’s commitment to football as well as the new Big Bang e by booking an appointment at Hublot’s Sydney boutique here.