Former England boss Venables picks his team of Israel's top tech players

Former England manager Terry Venables has chosen 20 Israeli companies specialising in sports technology to take part in a groundbreaking initiative to boost trade between Israel and the UK.

Mr Venables and ex-Football Association chairman Lord Triesman were among the judges who selected the top 20 start-ups from 80 firms which applied to attend the Future Sport conference in March.

The selected companies - which have developed a range of products, from technology allowing greater engagement with fans to software analysing the performance of players - will give presentations to leading sporting figures and corporate groups, on a three-day trip to London and Manchester.

Daniel Saunders, chief of staff of the economic and trade department at the Israeli embassy in London, chaired the judging panel and will lead the delegation.

He said: "The aim of Future Sport 2015 is to combine the technological prowess of Israeli innovations with the might of the British sporting industry.

"Each company's sales pitch was scrutinised and the technology analysed for its originality and potential for the UK market."

Mr Saunders said the Israelis would be taken to the head offices of some of the major British sports organisations and would meet leading industry players. "They'll have the opportunity to demonstrate how their technologies can complement the British sporting establishments."

BT Sport has already confirmed that it will be using mobile technology developed by Israeli company LiveU.