Legendary Footballer Fernando Morientes Attends SBC Summit Tbilisi 2026

Tbilisi hosted the leading iGaming, Sport and Tech conference in Eastern Europe and Central Asia -- SBC Summit Tbilisi -- on July 15-16 at the Sheraton Grand Metekhi Palace Hotel. The international business forum brought together leading representatives of the sports, technology and iGaming industries in one space. More than 2,500 high-ranking delegates, leaders, investors and decision-makers from 50 international and Georgian companies, sports technology and iGaming industries took part in it.

The fourth SBC Summit Tbilisi 2026 was organized by the British organization -- SBC and the global company based in Georgia -- SMH. The presenting partners of the summit were EGT Georgia and Amusnet Georgia.

As SMH founder Lasha Machavariani noted, 44 countries visited Georgia at this year's summit. Regulators from 15 countries from the iGaming sector were also invited to the event.

"SBC Summit Tbilisi is already the largest summit in Eurasia in the field of gaming, sports and technology. It is important that world football legend Fernando Morientes appeared as the keynote speaker at the summit. I am sure that his speech will be one of the main moments of this year's summit and will once again emphasize the role of Tbilisi as an important meeting place for international business and the iGaming industry. It is noteworthy that such stars themselves express their desire to attend the mentioned event in Georgia. We are expecting many more sports stars in our country in the future," said Lasha Machavariani.

Fernando Morientes shared his many years of experience, leadership principles, and his vision of the growing role of technology and business in modern football with the summit participants. On the main stage of SBC Summit Tbilisi 2026, he spoke about how technological progress is changing modern football, the impact of commerce on the development of sports, how a winning culture is created, and what common principles unite successful sports teams and businesses.

"I was received exceptionally well in Georgia. This is my first time here as a football fan. Tbilisi left a very good impression on me. Such a summit is very interesting in terms of sharing experiences. Today, football has become much faster and more technological, but the main thing that remains unchanged is passion, hard work, and team spirit. Success is possible only with great discipline," said Fernando Morientes.

He also spoke about Georgian football.

"Fortunately, Georgian football has developed. It is especially important that there are several players in Europe who speak very well about Georgian football. One of them is Giorgi Mamardashvili, who played for the Spanish "Valencia" and left a very good impression. I think he will be one of the great goalkeepers of the future. In my opinion, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is one of the best players in the world. He won the Champions League twice and is the main face of Georgian football," - said Fernando Morientes.

Fernando Morientes' name is associated with the golden era of world football. During his career, he participated in a number of historic victories at the highest level in Europe and became a symbol of professionalism, strategic thinking and leadership. Today, he is one of the most recognized speakers at international sports and business conferences around the world.