Technology & Digital Trends in Football
On the pitch, football is being played at a higher pace and intensity than ever before. The sport is developing at an unprecedented rate off the pitch too, with technological trends sweeping through the game, seemingly week by week.
Across the world, clubs, competition organisers and governing bodies are all aiming for the same thing: the continued growth of the beautiful game. Football has also looked to technology in order to make it a fairer sport, through video assistant referees and goal-line technology.
In this first edition of the Professional Football Journal, we will address the impact of 5G on football and the fan experience, getting unique insights from Benjamin Stoll, the FIFA Director of Strategic Alliances and Innovation. We will also shine the spotlight on eFootball, with a fantastic interview with our Director of eFootball and Gaming, Christian Volk.
Focusing on the experience: 5G as a game-changer.
Striking the right balance between nostalgia and innovation is a constant battle, and it is one that will be waged long after this debate is done. 5G may well shift the trajectory and upset the established order, but it will almost certainly push the game forward. The core focus is on those watching in the stands and on TV, and therefore, fan engagement has always been the underlying force that drives the revenue side of football. We are now on the verge of advances that will bring a whole new meaning to the term “revolutionary”.
5G will be a true game-changer, because it enables completely new experiences and services – not only in terms of speedy downloads, but also with regard to latency and connections with other technologies like artificial intelligence and bringing computing power closer to the devices. So, all of a sudden, you can create augmented-reality overlays with statistics and infotainment over a game via a smartphone. All of a sudden, you can share amazing personalised and contextualised video services on a smartphone within a stadium in real time, which wasn’t previously possible. It opens up a variety of completely new opportunities when you think about immersive experiences like augmented reality and virtual reality, wayfinding and navigation assistance, as well as any kind of related in-venue smart services, which we are in particular working on with our commercial partners.
“What we have seen is that digital channels and an integrated experience and service design can be a very strong tool to help FIFA leverage the stories around the game,” explains Stoll. “They can create deeper insights into who the players are and what’s special about them, and drive a deeper level of involvement and engagement, with the hope that when we reach casual fans with events like the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Women’s World Cup, we can keep the relationship going post-event and turn them into fans of the sport and engage them on a more regular basis.”
“When you look at the USA, you see that the fan experiences are more advanced than those, for instance, in Europe. The US leagues and franchises are experimenting a lot, and they’re trying to create the next generation of experiences and business models. We’re starting to see the same trend in China, where I would say the availability of 5G and the digital economy including cashless commerce and seamless customer services via mobile apps are already very advanced,” Stoll adds.
By the time the FIFA World Cup 2022™ and the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ roll around, or perhaps even the 2026 edition of the men’s showpiece, technology and fan experience will still be at the heart of discussions as we try to prepare for whatever the next technological advance might be.
eFootball for the win
Earlier this year, the coronavirus pandemic put a stop to virtually all football competitions, leaving fans almost entirely bereft of live sporting entertainment for several months. Thankfully, there is one football video game that has captured the imagination of gamers above all others: the EA SPORTS FIFA series.
The legacy of FIFA eFootball activities is already set to endure, with generation after generation of new gamers picking up the controllers to participate in the FIFA eWorld Cup™, the FIFA eClub World Cup™ or the FIFA eNations Cup™. One man who has been involved in building that legacy is Christian Volk, the Director of eFootball and Gaming at FIFA.
“For us, the gaming side is more reflecting the casual elements, whereas the eSports side is focused around proper competitions where gamers play to win. We are very much focused on the competitive side of gaming. As the pre-eminent international football brand, and with more than 15 years of experience running eFootball tournaments, we are doubling down on those tournaments with the entire football industry getting excited about the prospects,” explains Volk.
The idea that footballers can improve by picking up a gaming controller may sound counterintuitive, but there are also plenty of real-life nuances that can be learned via the games console, including gaining a better reading of the game out on the grass. Volk notes: “From a real football perspective, there are some teams that use the game as a support for tactical elements, as a sort of educational aid. This is especially true for the younger generation of players. At both professional and amateur clubs, you see in studies that youngsters who engage in the [virtual] game have a better tactical understanding.”
While hundreds of millions of fans live for the sport in real life week in, week out, some want to experience a different kind of thrill by taking charge of matches virtually. A select few are able to turn their passion into much more and build a viable financial platform for themselves.
Volk gives the low-down: “We have three narratives. Firstly, you can play for yourself, where you are the hero, and go from your living room to being a champion. With dedication and skill, anyone can become a champ. Secondly, you can be scouted to play in a team. Thirdly, if you really stand out, you may be selected by your national association to play for the eNational team. As an individual player, you have many opportunities to shine. Our vision has been to build a professional, entertaining eSport that has all the elements to be there for the long run. We are not interested in quick fixes. We really want to develop an ecosystem where all of the different constituents find their place and have the opportunity to participate actively. That will mean more competitions and better global competitions, and that more clubs and member associations will join.”
