What Does 2022 Have in Store for Technology in the World of Sports?

No matter the sports you follow, technological innovations continue to change the state of play for the better.

12:41 09 February 2022

We are already well into a new year jam-packed full of opportunity. This means another year where we will see technological innovations thrive in many industries around the world, especially the sports industry. 2021 saw the world of sports re-awaken and 2022 has even bigger things in store. While the tech trends below are already being realized in the sporting world they have huge potential to grow and develop in new ways. Let’s take a look at four major trends that will shake up the sector this year.

 

NFTs & the Metaverse

NFTs or Non-fungible tokens, and the sports industry really make a perfect pair. These forms of unique digital content were huge in the sports landscape last year, becoming more popular amongst fans as they collected and traded virtual NFT cards which represented whole teams of players, each uniquely different from the next. Although it’s still early days, this year we will see the metaverse concept step up to the plate and become a major player in the sports industry. Perhaps one day soon we could see fans being able to use their sports avatar to train and compete with others in virtual stadiums.

 

Intelligent Data

Intelligent data isn’t anything new but as time goes on it impacts more and more of our daily lives. This has huge implications in businesses that revolve around sports, as both companies and franchises are able to leverage big data to better understand their client base, serve them more accurately, and thus raise their revenue. One place where we have already seen this play out is within the context of the online sports betting sector. Here, fans take to the internet to place bets on important games and outcomes, all from the comfort of their own home. But the way these wagering giants are able to continue attracting and securing both new and loyal customers is with the help of intelligent data. This technology organizes large data-sets to give providers the tools they need to market their products to their target customer base. When sports betting brands understand their key demographics more, they can target fans with promotional offers and discounts that they are more likely to interact with. For example, a FanDuel promo code is one of these that specifically is catered to new customers, rather than returning ones. Promos like these are launched after data is studied to understand how many people are actually first-time users. In the cases where a large majority are newbies, more interaction is almost guaranteed thanks to the offer.

 

The 5G Fan Experience

5G-equipped sports stadiums have already been implemented in states across the US and in certain countries in Europe. This year will see growing uptake of this mobile data network, which runs 10x faster than its predecessor. This year is the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and there are already partnerships in the works to provide upgraded connectivity with 5G to every attendee. This means that fans will be better able to use their social networking services and share content live while watching, an important part of the overall fan experience. Sooner or later, every stadium in the world will need to start responding to this need in some way or another, or they will get left behind.

 

 

With each year, electronic sports are becoming more important in the overall scope of the sports industry

 

Esports Expansion

Last but not least, Esports and real sports are becoming more and more intertwined as the virtual world merges with the physical. This form of electronic video game competition is swiftly turning into a major coveted experience, with some of the best titles in gaming to back it up. The industry is expected to surpass the $2.5 billion revenue mark in 2022, as professional sports teams continue to partner with major Esports brands, increasing fan engagement and quickly selling out huge stadium-sized events.