Bolton Wanderers Football Club today announced a strategic partnership with Arkero Technologies Inc. as the club sets out a new artificial intelligence strategy and transformation roadmap.
The announcement follows three months of close work between Bolton's leadership team and Arkero to develop the club's AI strategy, establish a transformation roadmap and build the modern data architecture required for AI systems to operate at their full potential.
At the centre of the work is a bespoke club intelligence layer built around Bolton's own data, systems, processes and organisational knowledge. Accessible across the organisation, it is designed to give every employee a more complete and useful view of the club's proprietary data and provide the foundation for practical AI tools and agents.
The new AI platform is intended to help Wanderers engage more effectively with supporters, identify opportunities to grow revenues and improve operational efficiency across the club.
The club believes English football is entering a new phase of AI adoption and wants to be well prepared for it. Rather than treating AI as a standalone technology project, Bolton is embedding it into the way information is organised, decisions are made and work is carried out across the organisation.
Arkero is already working with leading clubs in the United States, including Seattle Sounders FC, Seattle Reign FC and San Diego FC, to deploy AI agents inside the football workplace. Arkero is also working closely with Southend United to transform how the club operates, applying AI across both football and business functions. These deployments give Bolton access to practical lessons from clubs already introducing AI into day-to-day operations, rather than approaching it solely as a future strategy.
David Ray, Chief Executive Officer of Bolton Wanderers, said:
“AI will change how football clubs are run. We want Bolton Wanderers to be ready for that, not playing catch-up.
“Over the past three months, we have worked closely with Arkero to develop a clear AI strategy and a practical roadmap for delivering it. They have been instrumental in helping us establish the modern data infrastructure required to operate the club more effectively.
“We are rebuilding that foundation from the ground up so our people can make better decisions, engage more effectively with our supporters, grow our revenues and reduce unnecessary administrative work across the organisation.
“This is not about experimenting with AI at the edges of the club. It is about making a long-term investment in how Bolton Wanderers operates.”
Shivaas Gulati, Chief Executive Officer of Arkero, said:
“AI transformation does not begin with a chatbot. It begins with a club's data, systems, knowledge and workflows.”
“Bolton is doing the foundational work required to make AI genuinely useful across the organisation. Together, we have built a bespoke club intelligence layer that makes the club's collective knowledge accessible to every employee and enables people to work collaboratively with AI agents.
“The future football workplace will bring experienced people and AI systems together. Bolton has approached this work with real ambition.”
To find out more about Arkero, visit their website here.