Key Takeaways:
- AI is poised to reshape the landscape of sports.
- According to Allied Market Research, The AI in Sports market is estimated to reach US$ 29.7 billion by 2032, growing from US$ 2.2 billion in 2022 at a CAGR of 30.1%.
- AI is helping sports clubs, football leagues, cricket teams, coaches and referees while enhancing athletes’ performance.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been advancing industries all across the world. Whether it is automotive, manufacturing, or healthcare, this technology has left its footprint everywhere. Sports is not an exception and the future of AI in sports seems bright. From sports analytics and strategy to performance enhancement, fan engagement and experience, health, and injury prevention, AI is influencing the future of sports.
In collaboration with IBM, the All England Lawn Tennis Club has recently unlocked new AI-enabled features for the 2024 Wimbledon Tournament. This feature is reportedly designed to provide real-time analysis, personalised content and expanded coverage like never before.
AI in Sports Changing The Game For Sports Leagues and Brands
Sports leagues and brands around the world are constantly exploring advancements in technology and its potential impact on their products and players. AI plays a pivotal role in enhancing athletes’ performance across different sports.
During training and competition, AI-enabled sensors and cameras capture detailed biomechanical data. This data significantly helps coaches and athletes examine movement patterns, detect inefficiencies, and optimize techniques to improve performance and prevent injuries.
With AI-driven analytics, teams and coaches are now making strategies and analyzing game dynamics. This revolutionary technology is also helping umpires in cricket and referees in football.
If you are a football fan you did not forget how Liverpool FC made a historic comeback in the 2019 UEFA Champions League semi-finals. The corner kick by Trent Alexander-Arnold helped the club seal a 4-0 victory for Jürgen Klopp’s side in the second leg of the semi-final and a spot in the Madrid final, which produced European Cup No.6.
Such corner kicks and goals are more likely to happen when you analyze and understand the game plan of opponent teams and implement your tactics during the game. As corner kicks have a high potential for goals, Nature Communication – a leading international weekly journal of science, unveiled an AI system, TacticAI.
This AI system will arm experts with tactical insights, particularly on corner kicks, through predictive and generative AI. Despite the limited availability of gold-standard data on corner kicks, TacticAI accomplishes state-of-the-art results by using a geometric deep learning approach to help create more generalizable models.
In response to how AI observes a football match, a sports physicist at the University of Lynchburg, Virginia, John Eric Goff said “The perception when people hear ‘AI’ is of a sentient being working alongside humans. But these are algorithms and machines capable of rapidly processing large amounts of data that a referee wouldn’t otherwise have access to.”
The UEFA Euro 2024 football tournament will feature AI that will help referees to track any slight motion made by the ball and players using the latest video-assisted referee (VAR) technology. Since its introduction in 2016, VAR has been the most debated among football fans.
Its upgraded, semi-automated version incorporating advanced AI and a real-time location-tracking chip embedded in the ball was first introduced in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Now its latest iteration will be used in Euro 2024.
In Cricket, AI plays a crucial role, providing selectors, coaches and teams with advanced analytics of athlete’s performance. In a recent instance, the England Women’s Cricket team leveraged AI while picking their playing eleven. Coach Jon Lewis disclosed that he used the technology which provided crucial feedback as far as match-ups are concerned and also helped them win the T20 series against Australia.
Making the most out of AI technology, South Africa Cricket is leveraging this and blockchain technology to increase the popularity of the sport among fans while creating new revenue streams for fans, players and brands. Highlighting the potential impact of digitisation in sports, LootMogul, an Indian sports technology company, Cricket South Africa and the Durban Super Giants have revealed an increase in fan engagement with cricket gaming platforms.
Digital marketing head at LootMogul, Vibhu Srivastava, said “It indicates the significant potential for future business opportunities.” According to the report, an average of 4.05 million platform visits were recorded in one month after deploying an AI, blockchain and metaverse-led strategy. These translate to 48,177 average new monthly games played and a 242.5% rise in the number of games played per month.
AI has a lot of potential in powering sports and fan engagement experiences. It is reshaping the sports landscape in profound ways.
Also Read: Personalized Workouts: When AI Meets Fitness
Concerns About AI In Sports
Despite the several advantages of AI in sports and gaming, several ethical concerns bother sports organizations, teams, and national associations. Many sports organizations are hesitant to adopt next-gen tools due to concerns revolving around challenges like the threat of AI replacing human talent, AI-assisted content and concerns around ethics.
Addressing these challenges requires careful consideration of AI implementation. Sports organizations must collaborate with sports tech providers and comply with rules and regulations to ensure the standard of this technology.
Conclusion
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been around for decades, however, its current iteration is relatively new. The game-changing application of AI presents new data points across virtually every industry, including sports. The technology can help make sports operations more efficient and improve athletic performance while creating more secure ticketing experiences.
As the potential of AI in sports continues to evolve, let us rethink what breakthroughs will emerge in the coming years. How will the future of AI in sports, further enhance the fan experience? These questions only scratch the surface of what’s possible.