Real Madrid and Cisco have revealed plans to establish an AI-ready data center at the soccer team’s training campus, Real Madrid City.

The data center is part of Real Madrid and Cisco’s multi-year agreement, which will also see Cisco technology deployed at the soccer team’s training campus to improve connectivity and reduce latency.

Details about the data center – beyond describing it as “scalable, high-performance, [and] AI-ready” – are sparse, though the club says it will help improve “energy efficiency measures” and “enable AI workloads to be integrated alongside traditional ones.”

DCD has reached out to Real Madrid and Cisco for further information, including expected capacity of the data center and construction/deployment timelines.

The data center will not be located at the Los Blancos’ Bernabéu stadium, instead being deployed at the Real Madrid City training campus.

Spanning 1.2 million sqm (12.9 million sq ft) of land, Real Madrid City features a 9,000 sqm (96,875 sq ft) T-shaped building with dressing rooms, gymnasiums, classrooms, conference rooms, offices, a hydrotherapy pool, and medical center, as well as a press area.

In addition to the data center, the partnership will see Cisco deploying 100Gbps network infrastructure connecting the Santiago Bernabéu stadium to Real Madrid City and deploying Cisco Wi-Fi 7 around Real Madrid City to offer faster speeds, lower latency, and better connectivity to fans and employees.

“The Bernabéu will once again be a pioneer in delivering immersive, sustainable, and cost-effective interactions,” said Andreu Vilamitjana, CEO of Cisco Spain and Portugal.

He added: “Networks are at the heart of digitalization, which is transforming all sectors, including sport and entertainment. Three years ago, the new Bernabéu stadium set a global benchmark in converged connectivity thanks to Cisco technology. Now, it will once again be a pioneer in delivering immersive, sustainable, and cost-effective interactions.”

The Santiago Bernabéu stadium, which was recently redeveloped, has used Cisco solutions for nearly two decades, along with a renovation completed in 2024 that saw the implementation of a converged Software Defined Access (SDA) network.

Cisco’s cloud-based IP Fabric for Media solution is also used to produce and distribute content to more than 2,500 screens throughout the venue in real time, and to millions of fans via broadcasts around the world.

Last year, Real Madrid selected Orange as its telecommunications partner for the following three seasons.

Cisco is also a technology partner of the US’ National Football League.

Earlier this month, the UK’s Premier League made Microsoft Azure its official cloud and AI partner in a five-year deal that would see the league’s core technology infrastructure moved to the cloud.

FC Barcelona, OL Groupe, and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, meanwhile, are all customers of the HPE’s GreenLake cloud-to-Edge offering.