KEY TAKEAWAYS
- AI enhances fan engagement by providing personalized content and real-time performance analysis.
- AI also optimizes athlete training and injury prevention, improving performance and extending careers.
- Innovations like facial authentication streamline stadium experiences, making game days smoother and more enjoyable for fans.
Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming how both teams and venues operate, creating new opportunities that extend far beyond the field. At Wicket, we’re witnessing and participating in AI’s steady revolution within sports. This technology is enhancing every aspect of the industry, from fan engagement to operational efficiency. In this article, we’ll explore the strides AI is making in sports and what they mean for fans and organizations alike.
Personalized Fan Experiences
AI is central technology that’s allowing fans to engage with their favorite teams right from their phone. By analyzing vast amounts of data on fan preferences and behaviors, AI algorithms can create highly personalized content for them. The NBA, for example, has partnered with Second Spectrum to provide users with customized game highlights and statistics tailored to their interests. This level of personalization keeps fans more engaged and invested in the sport.
On the other hand, LaLiga, Spain’s top football division, has taken fan engagement a step further with its AI-powered Beyond Stats portal. This platform offers fans real-time analysis of player performance and goal probabilities. By providing this level of detailed, personalized information, LaLiga is setting a new standard for fan engagement in sports.
“We’re now able to offer fans a set of metrics that were previously only available to those directly involved in the industry, such as the clubs themselves,” said LaLiga’s director of general technology. “Now fans can evolve from passive spectators to active participants in the game.”
Injury Prevention and Recovery
Preventing injuries and optimizing recovery are crucial aspects of sports management, and AI is playing an increasingly important role in this area. The NFL, in partnership with Amazon Web Services, has developed the Digital Athlete, an AI tool that uses TV footage and sensors in football gear to enhance player safety. By creating digital replicas of athletes in a virtual space combined with machine learning and computer vision, the system can identify impacts and suggest ways to reduce injuries. This technology has the potential to significantly extend athletes’ careers and improve their long-term health outcomes.
Coaching and Training
While AI is not replacing human coaches, it’s augmenting their capabilities, allowing them to focus on higher-level strategy and the more human aspects of coaching while AI handles data-intensive tasks. This symbiotic relationship between AI and human expertise is transforming how athletes train, perform, and compete at all levels of sports.
Injury Prevention
Advanced AI systems can analyze reams of data from various sources—including wearable sensors, video footage, and historical performance metrics—to generate insights that were previously impossible to obtain. For example, companies like Sparta Science use AI to create detailed “Movement Signatures” for athletes, allowing coaches to optimize training programs and reduce injury risk.
Sparta writes, “By knowing where the athlete is at risk for injury, we are able to program additional athlete-specific exercises to build resilience and strength. Our mission as a staff is to be relentless in our pursuit of player development, to help athletes become the best version of themselves, and to be built for life.”
Some may be surprised to learn this application didn’t appear during the explosion of AI technology in early 2022, when ChatGPT hit the market. Sparta has been investing since 2015 in these systems, and it demonstrates that AI in general is not as fresh and unexplored as it might seem.
Instant Analysis
AI-powered platforms can also be leveraged for real-time analysis during the game, helping coaches make more informed decisions on strategy and player substitutions. In training, AI assists in creating personalized workout plans tailored to each athlete’s specific needs and goals.
Furthermore, AI is enhancing video analysis, making it faster and more comprehensive than traditional manual reviews. And this isn’t just about counting shots or rebounds anymore. We’re talking about AI that can break down complex plays, showing coaches exactly how their team’s offense flows or where their defense might be springing leaks. It’s giving teams an edge by helping them fine-tune their strategies based on hard data, not just gut feelings.
Sizing Up the Opposition
Remember when preparing for an opponent meant watching a few game tapes and jotting down notes? In this respect, AI is changing the game in a big way. It’s like having a tireless assistant who can watch every single game an opponent has played, picking up on the tiniest details. Soccer teams, for example, are using AI to dissect how their rivals pass the ball or set up their defense.
It’s not about knowing if a team likes to play long ball or tiki-taka; it’s about understanding the nuances of their style down to the smallest detail. Companies like Hudl are at the forefront here, offering tools that turn hours of video into digestible insights on the opponent. For coaches, it’s like being handed a cheat sheet before a big exam—walking into games armed with an unprecedented level of knowledge about their opponents.
Improving Stadium Experiences
Returning once again to how AI is making fans’ lives better, AI has touched the stadium experience as well. Games used to be (and many still are) characterized by long lines and crowded concession stands. AI is tackling these headaches head-on. One game-changing innovation is facial authentication, which is slowly supplanting traditional ticketing and more contemporary approaches like QR codes.
Imagine walking up to the gate, looking at a camera, and being granted swift access to the stadium thanks to linking your ticket information to a biometric token (that is to say, your face). No fumbling in your purse or fanny pack for tickets or smartphones. This tech not only speeds up entry, but the most well-designed systems can offer benefits throughout the stadium, arena, or event grounds using identical technology, including:
- Shorter Concessions Lines. By utilizing facial payment integrations with other checkout technologies like self-serve kiosks, facial authentication can drastically reduce lines.
- Access Control. FA systems can also be used to manage access to locker rooms, private areas, and staff-only spaces.
- Premium Experiences. Additionally, biometric facial data can be linked to premium areas for superfans and VIPs, making it easy for high-value attendees to gain unprecedented and seamless access to exclusive spaces.
The goal? Making sure fans spend more time enjoying the game and have a sensational experience from beginning to end. With facial authentication and other AI tricks up their sleeve, stadiums are turning into smooth-running machines where the focus stays right where it should be—on the action on the field.
Gearing Up Smarter
The world of sports equipment is getting a high-tech, AI-driven makeover. One-size-fits-all gear is no longer the norm. Now, we’re entering an era of ultra-personalized equipment. In soccer, for example, cleats are being designed to give players the perfect grip based on how they actually move on the field. Now, sports teams and venue operators are poised to offer that same level of customization throughout every aspect of the game—especially for their legions of screaming fans.
The future of sports is here, and it’s powered by AI. Organizations that embrace these technologies and find innovative ways to implement them will be well-positioned to thrive in this new era of sports.
