Meet The Member: “Gamification and fan engagement technologies present a huge amount of untapped potential to incentivise fans”

Fan engagement is central to driving fans to the stadiums, convincing them to spend over $50 billion annually on their favorite teams and leagues, as per Deloitte. iSportconnect spoke with InCrowd’s Joshua Holland-Bedson and Ben Hayward to know more about the organisation’s strategy when it comes to enhancing fan experiences. 

Please tell us about your roles at InCrowd.

Josh: I am the Product Manager for Fan Experience. I look after everything around how we can improve the quality of what we’re delivering to fans in terms of engagement and their overall experience across owned digital platforms, working with  clients in different sports  to learn and apply best practice to the industry as a whole.

Ben: I have been at InCrowd since 2015 and as we’ve gone through huge growth periods my role has evolved. At the moment, I am The Product Training Manager, training our customers to achieve the very best outcome from using InCrowd products, and I am also the in-house Gamification Specialist, working with Josh to develop InCrowd’s offering in the  digital fandom and gamification space.

Recently SEG3 was held at the Emirates Stadium – the Industry’s largest event on Web3 in sport, entertainment and gaming. What was your one big takeaway? 

Josh: There was a wide span of organisations looking into the web3 world and where that’s potentially going to take the industry. However, at InCrowd we think web2 still has so much potential and opportunity with vast untapped areas of value that need to be maximised first – there shouldn’t be a knee-jerk jump to web3 but a natural evolution from web2. To achieve this, there are certain technology gaps and hurdles that need to be overcome, but really, that’s what we saw; that there’s definitely a huge web2 opportunity before jumping into the web3 worlds.

Ben: It’s about understanding the audience really. Gamification and fan engagement technologies present a huge amount of untapped potential to incentivise fans to engage with sport and adopt new habits. These technologies have the potential to drive great things across the industry. From creating thriving fan communities, helping fans of all backgrounds and ability to feel closer to the heart of the action, encouraging and driving positive social changes and making every fan experience truly memorable.

The positive social benefits to this provide an incredibly exciting proposition to sport and fans whether it’s: encouraging people to get fitter; helping to drive the amazing growth of women’s sports, or anything else. We need to look at the sports fans that we’re trying to target and work out what kind of technology they’re used to, what’s ubiquitous and self explanatory to pick up and use, and to use tech in an engaging way that makes sense to them. It’s about bringing technology to them wherever they are in the world, rather than expecting them to seek out new technologies which, for many people, present huge barriers to entry.

Digital fandom is something that didn’t really exist 10 years ago. How do you define it and why has it become something sports rights holders need to use?

Josh: Fandom as a whole has always been around. From fans turning up to the event, collecting pins or badges, buying match day programmes and building up to that experience of being in the stadium, feeling that emotion. Digital fandom is a result of the evolutionary change into a more digital world. We all have smartphones, and sports organisations have started to take notice of this in regards to their digital transformation journeys. It’s now about how to actually interact with fans outside of those traditional sporting moments, how do you get their views and how do you share relevant content with them throughout the week, instead of just on game day. Digital fandom is a combination of personalization of gamification elements like rewards, leaning on that human want for winning. It’s bringing fans closer to the organisation, athletes and staff and strengthening that connection.

Ben: It’s also really important to think about what happens outside of the context of a match day. For instance, it’s well worth evaluating the period of time between matches; the buildup before a match etc, and then looking at how this relates to sports fans interacting on their WhatsApp groups with other fans; fans in the pub having a laugh with their mates; fans chatting around the watercooler in the workplace and sharing memes around. As a fan, going to your favourite platform to engage with the conversation, news and banter that’s being shared around, is at the forefront of your mind the whole time – that’s what fandom really is. It’s constantly happening and it defines how you’re thinking and how you’re interacting with fellow fans, friends and family on a daily basis. What good digital fandom products do, is ask the question “How can we place ourselves right in the middle of that conversation / at the forefront of fan thinking”.

Ben, how important is it to understand the audience that you’re trying to target when trying to get fans on board with digital fandom?

Ben: It’s absolutely crucial. If you just have a look at the spectrum of different fans, you’ve got millennials and Gen Z-ers who have grown up in a very different environment to some of the older generations and more traditional sports fans. 

It’s really important to try and understand how they’re interacting with their sports, whether they’re interacting more with a club or a particular player, but also on what platforms they’re interacting. How do they like to engage and to what frequency they like to engage?

We’re seeing more and more that younger fans want to digest shorter form, visual content more regularly, which is more up-close and personal with their favourite players, experiencing their daily lives and life from their perspective. Whereas traditional fans might be engaging on a less frequent basis but perhaps spending longer per session, and with a more editorial focus as opposed to a more social media focus. 

It’s really important to understand those demographics when we’re talking about applying technology to build engaging digital products, and in particular how we can replicate real life habits in the digital space. It’s about evaluating the technologies and trying to bring those two worlds together. We also see a desire to engage on a deeper level than merely consuming content – fans are willing to do more to feel part of their community (fan-base). 

We’ve got millennials and Gen Z’s on this end of the spectrum and then on the other end, you’ve got your older fans. Our focus is on how can we bring them together to create a digital platform, where everybody can participate in at some level.  The idea of creating a digital fandom-based product should be all geared around how you can get every fan engaged and loving your product in some way, and that’s likely to be different for different groups of fans. 

To that end, considering how you can replicate some of the aspects of real-life fandom, but in a more condensed digital format, is a great place to start. That then brings about this reciprocating effect of people engaging people and the positive feeling that they’re participating and being rewarded socially for that. 

Josh: Worldwide fandoms are more and more prevalent, with bigger clubs having  many, many fans all over the world.  These fans can’t attend games, they can’t get to the stadium but what they can do is you can be involved in a digital world. So it’s really reflecting that in motion, that understanding of what a fan in the stadium absolutely loves, and reflecting that in a digital way that can be shared across the world.

Digital fandom is something that is typically associated with younger fans, how can you make sure older fans are included in this as well?

Josh: This is something that is absolutely central to InCrowd as we build out our digital fandom products in terms of making it as inclusive as possible. How do we make it so that technology doesn’t create a hurdle for those fans that are a little technically adverse, building a platform that applies to everybody. So certain features like being able to select and choose your routes of entry; this could be more digitally enhanced, you may have certain additional screens, deeper  personalization, or you might just go straight through to the homepage, which is what you’re looking for. 

In this modern world, there is no longer such a massive divide between millenials and Gen Z’s who are both completely used to using their phones versus your earlier generations who are perhaps more tech adverse. Using tech day to day has become second nature to everyone and so continuing to bridge that gap is our main focus. 

Ben: We have to understand that a mobile phone is an extension of ourselves nowadays. For us, one of the key things we really took away from #SEG3 is that although emerging technologies are great, when a fan is rushing out of the house on a Match Day, they’re not necessarily thinking about grabbing their VR headset to take along with them!

So what we’ve been really thinking about since SEG3, is actually looking at the technology that everybody has at their disposal. I think it’s fairly clear that the key technology really is the mobile phone. Sports fan or not, I believe we live in a world whereby when you open an app or when you go to a website you expect to see something which is personalised to you in some way. I’m not necessarily talking about adverts here, I’m talking about the actual experience that you get when you go to the app or website; for example, you pull out your BBC Weather app, and it immediately goes to your current location, you don’t have to tap anything, it just immediately finds your location using the GPS signal. That’s a really good example of simple but effective personalisation which gives everyone (no matter who they are) the content/info they desire instantly, forming a real USP to using that product. As a user, we’re reducing the number of taps, swipes and scrolls that you have to do on your screen to get to the information you want, be that the scores, latest news, the player you follow, or anything else.

So, as Josh was pointing out, for sports fans, it could be very different in terms of the content that I want to access as a millennial, or a Gen Z, compared to maybe a more traditional fan. But what’s important is that we provide a digital experience which enables fans of all cohorts and demographics to personalise their experience to make our product serve their needs, and to therefore be the product they choose to use above others. Its very important that these fans are included and understood alongside digital age generations,, and that’s part of InCrowd’s bigger picture of digital fandom.

What are some of the best examples of digital fandom that you’ve seen in the world of sport?

Ben: The first one that comes to mind is in eSports. Rocket League, for those who aren’t familiar, is basically soccer/football, played with cars in a virtual environment and it has a huge worldwide player-base. One of the really great digital fandom tools that they make use of, is that when the eSport is streamed on Twitch, (the big video game and eSports streaming platform), fans are rewarded for every minute they’re engaging via the Twitch platform, by unlocking digital items in the Rocket League game that can be applied to your personal profile.

In Rocket League, your personal profile is the car that you play with, so when you’re playing with your mates, you’re able to show off the items that you earned from engagement. This, among other means of earning digital personalisations, means that fans can visually represent their fandom by showing off to other fans – a bit like how sports fans might buy a jersey, keep a programme or ticket stub, etc.

Another one that I love to talk about is Strava. Obviously, this platform is more about exercise than it is sport, but it provides an excellent example of the social side of digital fandom, with functionality that enables you to engage between communities and show off your personal fitness achievements to others. Strava rewards you with the kudos enabling you to build up your own personal profile and sense of pride in your achievements.

There are also a few other examples. Recently, Barcelona did a partnership with Spotify, curating playlists around specific players and matching musical tastes – it was a huge hit in the InCrowd office and of course across a really nice example of getting fans closer to the sporting heroes they love, and for me, that was a really fun one to engage with.

Josh: Yes, the NBA have done well with their new app. They have this mass of app users already so used to this type of technology, wandering around in the real world and collecting  various rewards. They already had a substantial base audience and so have maximised on that opportunity with new gaming aspects and social style content in their apps. It shows that these types of technologies to engage traditional fandom and gamification are out there. It’s 100% about taking the necessary steps, small steps to building up that engagement with this new technology – going back to what we said about web2 versus web3, those that are successful are not taking risky big leaps but are building on well planned steps to success. For me, the  NBA is setting the benchmark here, and we know of other sports organisations who are starting to make really exciting and positive moves in this space.

Ben:  

With all of these examples, there is a trifecta of three different components that we think is almost the golden ratio for developing engaging digital products. And wherever one of these three components is lacking the product ends up falling down in some way. Ultimately, what you want is fans coming to your platform, realising that they can benefit from it, and then re-engaging.

Gamification, along with the activations and content to which it applies is the first of these three components. These are the drivers which give users things to engage with, they build a layer of new interactivity on top of the sport or other core concept that you want to make engaging. If you look at Duolingo, for example, what it’s doing is it’s building this concept of a streak – it’s an activation on top of language learning. 

Second, we can look at profile building which is essentially our way of saying “your digital proof of engagement”. In the case of Strava, for example, this is creating a history of all of your activities, but in Duolingo this is adding badges and unlocking achievements and XP points. The profile basically provides us with a place where all interactions through gamification, activation, and content are recorded and displayed. 

This leads on to the third component which is socialisation and reward. We’ve touched on reward already, so focusing on social: what’s really important for any successful digital fandom products, is to build a sense of community. And that’s particularly relevant for sports fans because of course, community is at the heart of fandom in the real world. So what we’re doing is we’re replicating that physical interaction in a digital environment. And when you pair that with the profile, which contains all of your personal accolades, it allows fans to unlock peer-based social value as a reward for their engagement. 

If one of those elements falls away, for example, if you don’t have a social component, then your profile just sits on your mobile phone doing absolutely nothing at all, no one else in the fan-base gets to see it. By creating a strong social environment which rewards fans for their interactions, these components play off each other to create a Digital Fandom feedback-loop that starts to become part of the general parlance that is used day to day within friend groups, fan networks in the real world. Fantasy leagues are a great example of this. There’s always a lot of chat about that across socials every match/game week!

Josh: I think from a digital fandom perspective like you said, it’s about achieving all those components and making sure that they all work well together. I think there’s a lot of clubs and sports at the moment that are bridging the first gap, but they’re missing other components, causing them to perhaps struggle to gain the traction of making sure that the fans are rewarded, or ensuring the fans are continuously engaged.

How do you make sure that digital fandom isn’t another one of these trends that we see fade out?

Josh: There’s no denying that the future is about creating engagement and creating community, building relationships and making everything more accessible and Digital Fandom is such a driving force here. Fans used to be about the season ticket – where is my seat, where do I buy a programme, where do I watch my team? Now, fans are also about information and involvement -where do I find what I need, what does that mean to me?  

They want to know what their club is doing in the offseason, during the weeks in between the games. They want to know about specific players and their lives (take Miami and Messi for example!). If you have a digital fandom component that sits within that new world it creates significant added digital value for the fans as well as the organisation and brand partners.

Because if you don’t attend the games, and if you don’t go and see the games being played, you don’t get the kudos (and subsequent dopamine hit) of being able to say I saw Messi score his first goal, I was also personally rewarded for that and I have a record of it – it’s that extra value layer. We’ve always got this concept of a club’s legacy and the club’s history being built up through the years of what happened, who played for them, when did they win the title and now digital fandom has created this fan history from the moment they start on their journey as a digitally engaged fan.

And I think from a rights holders perspective, that is super powerful because it’s continuously keeping the fans engaged with a significant sponsor driven digital asset and it is giving them more insight into their fanbase in terms of feedback. Look at Wrexham; a club that had a very low starting point, proving you can build anything with digital fandom, and you can really create a massive club with not a lot of investment. These components exist, it’s just about combining them together.

Ben: Digital fandom has been around in many guises over the years, and in its most common form it’s the mobile apps and websites that you use every day – it’s allowed fans across the globe to get closer to their club and connect them to the fandom community where otherwise they wouldn’t be able to do so. It’s hard to imagine sports without digital aspects to fandom nowadays. Sports fandom isn’t going anywhere, all we’re doing through the digital space is enhancing it to make it easier than ever to access, turning fandom from a localised concept into a global one.

Looking at the commercial side, when you build a product which resonates completely with fans, the commercialisation of your product comes very naturally, since you’ve already built a digital environment which your fans get a lot of value out of. So in other words, if your digital fandom product provides fans with a unique proposition to their fandom that they can’t get anywhere else (proximity to the team/league; activities to do; reward; community) you can easily start to monetize elements of digital fandoms a natural and integrated way, far beyond traditional the traditional ad-banner approach. 

Fans are already placing value in the digital platform that you’ve created so sponsoring digital assets like badges, challenges and rewards is a natural step. This way, brands can become a real part of the conversation and become intrinsically linked to tangible digital experiences which fans want to engage with.

Josh: For InCrowd, existing within a data driven Digital Fandom is the future of the sports fan and the beauty of it is that it can be achieved by any and every organisation as it’s such a buildable end product. You just have to take that first step!

Want to learn more about creating value in Web2, the Digital Fandom landscape or InCrowds Digital Fandom products? 

Email at enquries@incrowdsports.com to get in touch with Josh and Ben!

Member Insights: The urgent need for RFEF to do some soul-searching

In this week’s Member Insight piece David Alexander, MD of Calacus PR, spotlights on the inequalities which female footballers continue to face.

The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup saw the Spanish national team lift the trophy for the first time after defeating England’s Lionesses by a single goal in the final at Stadium Australia in Sydney.

But what should have been a moment of celebration quickly turned into a crisis that has spread far beyond the pitch in Sydney.

There had been controversy from the outset, when a player-led campaign successfully removed Visit Saudi as a sponsor while the Nigerian team were one of many who were locked in a pay dispute with their own federation.

England goalkeeper Mary Earps also criticised Nike’s decision not to sell her jersey, despite her being one of the stars of the World Cup and in the context of a vast gap in prize money offered by FIFA between this Women’s World Cup and the men’s 2022 edition in Qatar, it was clear that equality in football – and indeed sport and society in general – has a long way to go.

No wonder iconic USWNT star Megan Rapinoe said that female players are constantly “playing two games at the same time” – off the pitch as well as on it.

Never could this have been more apparent than in the case of the eventual champions Spain, who came into the tournament under a cloud.

At the back end of 2022, a group of 15 first-team players had sent identical emails to the Spanish football federation (RFEF) requesting the removal of Jorge Vilda as manager related to his personal behaviour as well as his tactical shortcomings.

In response, the RFEF doubled down and backed their man, declaring that “Las 15” had been “poorly advised” and threatened bans of up to five years with Vilda given a vote of confidence.

The recriminations continued during the tournament, with two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas blatantly blanked Vilda as she was substituted in the semi-final against Sweden.

When Spain arrived to face England in the final, the capacity crowd in Sydney showed whose side they were on as a chorus of boos greeted the announcement of Vilda’s name.

A goal from captain Olga Carmona was enough to win beat England and lift the trophy, notable for separate groups of celebrations at the full-time whistle.

But it was the actions of RFEF President, Luis Rubiales, that dominated the headlines.

He was initially caught on camera making an obscene gesture with his groin in the stands right beside Queen Letizia of Spain and her 16-year-old daughter.

On the podium, Rubiales, having already unnecessarily hugged, touched the face and kissed the cheek of various English and Spanish players, planted a kiss on the lips of Spanish attacker Jenni Hermoso.

What possessed the RFEF to then tweet “Vilda In” and ignore the elephant in the room – the behaviour of their leader?

What Rubiales should have done, in the face of mounting criticism regarding his post-match conduct, was to acknowledge that he had become overwhelmed by the situation, accept his mistake and apologise. 

Instead, he dismissed criticism of his actions referring to critics as “idiots” and “stupid people. It was a kiss between two friends celebrating something. Let’s ignore them [the critics] and enjoy the good things.”

In a later short video address, Rubiales did seem to show some remorse: “I was surely wrong, I have to admit it, because at a moment of maximum effusiveness, without any bad intentions, without any bad faith, well, what happened happened.

“We didn’t understand [the controversy] because we saw it as something natural, normal,” he added. “But outside it seems that a commotion has formed, and of course if there are people who have felt damaged by this, I have to apologise, I have no other choice.”

That could have been the start of the process of rebuilding both his reputation and that of the RFEF, but they then published a statement from Hermoso defending Rubiales which later proved to have been released without her involvement.

Hermoso finally spoke out four days after the final and two days after the false statement had been released, issuing her own joint statement with FUTPRO.

“We express our firm and resounding condemnation of conduct that violates the dignity of women.

“From our association, we ask the Royal Spanish Football Federation to implement the necessary protocols, ensure the rights of our players and adopt exemplary measures. 

“It is essential that our national team, current world champion, is always represented by figures that project values of equality and respect in all areas.” 

That prompted widespread condemnation for Rubiales and the RFEF, with Beatriz Álvarez Mesa, the president of Liga F writing an open letter to the government attacking Rubiales. Her comment that “the person that many of us know in private has been unveiled publicly” was utterly damning.

The Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, described Rubiales’ gesture as “unacceptable” and said that his “apologies are not enough.” 

Tamara Ramos, a former employee of the Spanish players’ association and colleague of Rubiales, then spoke out about past humiliating treatment at the hands of the president.

When a press conference was called for the following Friday morning, it was widely expected that Rubiales would announce his resignation, and he shocked the audience by defiantly repeating that he would not resign. He went on to describe “false feminism” as “one of the scourges of this country” and placed himself as the victim of a witch hunt.

Needless to say, senior male players such as Borja Iglesias ruled himself out of national team selection while Hector Bellerin vented his frustration via his Instagram story, and Barcelona captain Sergi Roberto quoted Putellas on Twitter to show support. Legendary Spanish goalkeepers David de Gea and Iker Casillas also denounced the “embarrassment” of Rubiales.

Hermoso responded to the press conference, confirming via her Twitter that the kiss was not “consensual”.

Her teammates then launched a boycott of the national team until the “federation leadership is removed.”

Rubiales’ attitude was seen as symptomatic of a long-standing issue within the system of Spanish football governance.

This idea was further enforced when details of complaints against Rubiales going back as far as 2016 surfaced, as well as a disturbing video of disgraced former national team manager, Ignacio Quereda, intimidating and physically assaulting Spanish players.

Wary of the unprecedented damage that this drama was doing to their national reputation, the Spanish government opened up proceedings against Rubiales to get him forcibly removed from his post via tribunal and he was then provisionally suspended from all football activity by FIFA.

Still the RFEF defended their man and threatened to take legal action against Hermoso for her “lies”, releasing their own breakdown of the kiss, claiming that Hermoso had initiated it.

A mass resignation of the Spanish coaching staff then left just Villa still in situ, but his position was hardly stable with squad member Misa Rodriguez demanding his removal before the players could consider a return. 

The issue went as far as the UN Human Rights office, who said that the public stance on the kiss could be “a turning point” in terms of sexism and misogyny.

Eventually, more than a week after the World Cup final incident, the RFEF released an official statement requesting Rubiales to resign, a plea he has so far ignored.

The saga has been widely reported as a ‘Me Too’ moment for Spanish society. The hashtag “#SeAcabó” (“It’s Over”) has trended on social media and has become the slogan for an end to gender inequality across the country.

Rubiales’ defiance is doing further damage to the reputation of Spanish football, and indeed the wider sporting and national landscape.

His words and actions have shone a light on a deeply entrenched problem within Spanish society which may just be the catalyst to push forward a long overdue cultural clean-up.

Rubiales appeared to have cemented himself into a position of untouchable authority within Spanish football, but the force of the united messaging by those in opposition to him has completely shattered that misconception.

The sacking of Vilda earlier this week may not have come as a shock, but it did give the RFEF the opportunity to start to address the problems that they had allowed to occur.

Interim RFEF President Pedro Rocha, who has taken on the role while Rubiales is suspended by FIFA, issued an apology which stated: “The Royal Spanish Football Federation, through its president, Mr. Pedro Rocha, considers it is essential to present the most sincere apologies to the football institutions, the players, especially the players of the Spanish National Football Team and the English National Football Team, stakeholders involved in football and the fans around the world for the totally unacceptable behaviour of its highest institutional representative during the final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 and in the moments that followed.

“The damage caused to Spanish football, to Spanish sport, to Spanish society and the values ​​of football and sport as a whole have been enormous.

“The RFEF wants to transmit to the whole of society and to the whole of the football world its utmost regret for what happened that has tarnished our team, our football and our society.

“We must apologise most sincerely and make a firm and absolute commitment that events like these can never happen again.”

The RFEF debacle is a further example of a sporting organisation seeming to ignore its role in society and responding poorly when crisis strikes. Rocha’s apology was well overdue, but it will take a long time to restore a reputation now lying in tatters.

UEFA and Hisense renew partnership for the third time

UEFA and Hisense have agreed to a multi-year partnership to sponsor UEFA Men’s National Team Football including the upcoming UEFA EURO 2024 taking place from 14 June to 14 July of next year in Germany. This will mark the third consecutive UEFA EURO that Hisense will sponsor after being a partner for the two previous editions.

Additionally, the deal will see Hisense sponsor the European Qualifiers 2024 & 2026, UEFA Nations League Finals 2025, UEFA Under-21 Championship 2025, Finalissima 2024 and the UEFA Futsal EURO 2026.

UEFA marketing director Guy-Laurent Epstein said: “I am thrilled that Hisense is renewing its commitment to European football as an official partner of UEFA EURO 2024, which will be our third consecutive EURO together. Their technologies continue to help make football more accessible and enjoyable to fans worldwide.”

Fisher Yu, President of Hisense Group, said: “Hisense is able to connect with consumers around the world through our sports sponsorships, with this a great way to build trust in our brand. To continue brand building globally, Hisense will provide fans around the world with a unique viewing experience of UEFA EURO 2024.”

As part of the global partnership package, Hisense branding will be present during all matches on the perimeter boards and giant screens in the stadiums. Furthermore, Hisense will activate their digital rights on UEFA’s platforms as well as their on-site rights at UEFA fan zones and stadiums. Hisense will also collaborate with UEFA in providing cutting-edge display technology and state-of-the-art appliances to meet the operational requirements.

The View From Asia: The Rise Of Singapore As A Sporting Destination

In his View From Asia column, Unmish Parthasarathi, the Singapore-based Founder of Picture Board Partners, the Strategy, Innovation & Venture Development boutique, highlights the formidable sporting position of Singapore in Asia.

Two Fridays ago, about a hundred local, regional and international decision makers in Sport convened at the Singapore Cricket Club for the inaugural edition of the STF (Sport Tech Finance) Asia Leadership Conclave. Promoted by Picture Board Partners, this by-invitation forum was a first for the region. The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) played co-hosts ahead of their first Asian Open race that weekend in the Lion City.


Singapore is at the epicentre of the next billion fans, who will play, participate and partner with a variety of sports codes. Government agencies such as Sport Singapore (aka Sport SG) and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) have brought new competition formats such as World Table Tennis, FIBA 3×3 Basketball and most recently, Triathlon with the PTO.  During the same period, the City State has welcomed more than 500 single family offices and continued to be the regional headquarters of Big Tech ranging from American brands such as Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Akamai or Cisco to Byte Dance of China and TCS (Tata Consulting Services) of India. 

All this comes at a time when the Sports industry per se, whether that is from media, events, tech, real estate or materials (shoes, apparel, equipment), is worth $100-$120 Billion in Asia, a 20%-25% of global share and set to double by 2030, due to rising year on year percentage growth numbers.

Set against this macroeconomic context, the rationale for a Leadership Conclave that would enable Captains of Sport, to mingle with counter parts in Deep Tech & High Finance seemed inevitable. Adding government and entrepreneurs into the mix, created a healthy critical mass of professionals who rarely meet but are united by the wide range of value Sport can provide to their remits and ambitions.


Chatham House Rules was the norm, creating a comfortable environment for open admissions and honest conversations. What emerged was an exchange of ideas, ambitions, and even emotions, amongst a select group who compete for business on one hand and are united by a focus on the fan on the other. 

  • Peter Hutton kicked us off with a keynote that debunked the myth of short attention spans and, instead, encouraged us to find ways for fans to play with the narrative.
  • Euan Smith (Astro) and Jay Ganesan (Amagi) shared how technology enables to Casual Fan, an often ignored segment, and allows niche sports to access mainstream attention.
  • Sam Renouf (Founder & CEO, PTO) shared his vision for a ‘sports rights holder of the future’, and was self-effacing in sharing a photo from two decades ago, when he was paid a paltry sum to compete for Team GB. 
  • The Holy Trifecta of content, code and capital was discussed between an agency (Echo Li, Dentsu), government (Roy Teo, Sport SG) and a venture capital backed event (Jesley Chu, ONE Championship) 
  • A conversation about ‘Sports OTT 2.0’ revealed new trends such Gamified Viewing at Vidio (Hermawan Sutanto), localised tune-in at SPOTV (CK Lee) and democratising access by Pixellot (Christopher Yap). 
  • Investor interest in Data was linked to AI graduating from its Predictive origins to Generative ambitions as seen by Magnifi (Vinayak Shrivastav), World Table Tennis (Michael Brown) and Quidich Innovation (Rahat Kulshreshtha). 
  • In his closing comments, Chris Kermode (Chairman, PTO) remarked on the breadth of conversations that reflected the diverse yet enduring quality of Sport – with content that always promises the unexpected and an industry that is set to embark on its next phase of growth enabled by code and capital. 

Feedback to the inaugural edition of the STF Asia Leadership Conclave has been positive. A good mix of people & priorities coupled with a private, intimate setting were cited as its biggest benefits.  

To participate, promote or partner next April 2024, please email unmish@pictureboard.asia  

Burnley FC names financial platform Uphold as official sleeve partner

Burnley Football Club and global Web3 financial platform Uphold have announced a partnership which will see the company become the Club’s Official Sleeve Partner for the 2023/24 Premier League campaign.

The Uphold logo was in place on the Clarets’ shirts for last weekend’s game against Aston Villa and the relationship will also see the platform’s branding displayed on LED signage across Turf Moor on matchdays and during activations throughout the season.

Ranked the fastest-growing company in Silicon Valley by the San Francisco Business Times in 2022, Uphold will also become an Official Partner of Burnley FC Women, as part of the Club’s continued commitment to developing women’s football across the Northwest region.

The Uphold Card allows users to spend any asset they hold – including Bitcoin, XRP and Ethereum – anywhere in the world. The card is available in both physical and virtual form and offers no foreign transaction fees, low FX rates and cashback of up to 4% on every purchase.

Stuart Hunt, Burnley FC President said: “I’m pleased to expand our fantastic portfolio of partners and welcome Uphold onboard as our Official Sleeve Partner. A global brand, their vision and drive has led to them successfully serving over 140 countries, across 300+ currencies in recent years.

“There’s ample potential for the partnership and I’m delighted Uphold will become an Official Partner of our women’s team too – a key area of growth for us. We look forward to working together and introducing their brand to our supporters.”

Simon McLoughlin, Uphold CEO said: “We couldn’t be more proud to stand beside Burnley FC as they march back into the Premier League. The Clarets embody grit and determination – climbing back up the ranks with 101 points accrued last season alongside a 22-game unbeaten run. That’s the kind of spirit we at Uphold love…Vincent Kompany at the helm just adds another layer of excitement to this partnership. With a legend who knows what victory tastes like guiding a team that’s hungry for more, Turf Moor’s destined to witness some magic this season, and we’re thrilled to be a part of it.”

Viacom 18 acquires media rights for BCCI in a $720m deal

The BCCI had issued an Invitation to Tender (“ITT”) for Media Rights to the BCCI International Matches and Domestic Matches for September 2023 – March 2028. As part of the process, an e-auction was conducted on August 31, 2023, wherein all eligible bidders were permitted to participate to determine the successful bidder for the Media Rights.

Viacom 18 Media Private Limited has acquired the Media Rights from September 2023 to March 2028 for a cumulative figure of INR 5,963 crores, subject to execution of definitive documentation and completion of formalities as required by BCCI, and other obligations specified in the ITT being completed.

Ernst & Young were the strategic advisor for the BCCI Media Rights. Argus Partners were the legal advisor to assist in drafting the tender documents. Mjunction Services Limited provided the platform for the smooth conduct of the e-auction.

BCCI President, Mr Roger Binny said: “The recent BCCI e-auction has unequivocally demonstrated the vigour of cricket in India. The remarkable journey of Indian cricket, its meteoric rise on the global sporting arena, owes its success to the unwavering trust that people have vested in the BCCI leadership and its dedicated workforce. With the staunch support and collaboration of every stakeholder within our cricketing ecosystem, I am confident that we will continue to propel the brand BCCI to uncharted territories on the global sports stage.”

BCCI Honorary Secretary, Mr Jay Shah said: “It fills me with immense joy and a profound sense of pride to witness the remarkable growth of brand BCCI. Today’s e-auction has propelled BCCI into the upper echelons of per-match media rights valuation, marking a monumental stride in our journey. Throughout this process, we have steadfastly upheld the principles of transparency and fairness, ensuring that all stakeholders are treated equitably. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Viacom18 for emerging successful in the e-auction, and I express my sincere gratitude to all the bidders who participated in this process. Their involvement underscores the industry’s confidence in India Cricket. I also want to acknowledge the role of market forces in reinforcing their belief and trust in us.

Our underlying goal remains to strike a harmonious equilibrium between cricket and commercial interests. BCCI remains deeply committed to nurturing sports development in India through the medium of cricket. The revenue generated from media rights is an essential catalyst for nurturing grassroots cricket across the nation—a cause that resonates deeply with us. It’s the legacy we leave behind and the positive impact we create in our country’s cricketing ecosystem that truly matters.”

BCCI Vice President, Mr Rajiv Shukla said: “It brings me great joy to welcome Viacom18 in the BCCI family, and I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the bidders who exhibited their keen interest in becoming a part of India Cricket’s ongoing growth journey. Year after year, the narrative of Indian Cricket has been one of advancement and expansion, and I’m elated to witness the continuing commitment from all stakeholders. The unwavering faith demonstrated by India Inc. in Brand BCCI reaffirms the inherent value of investing in a property that has consistently exhibited growth across all dimensions. This resolute belief is a testament to the enduring appeal and potential of Indian Cricket, and it reinforces our collective determination to propel this sport to greater heights.”

BCCI Honorary Treasurer, Mr Ashish Shelar said, “I want to take this moment to convey my profound gratitude to each and every bidder who participated in this significant process. Your engagement and interest reflect the vibrant ecosystem that surrounds India’s beloved sport of cricket. Furthermore, my heartfelt congratulations go out to Viacom18 for successfully securing a renewed partnership with the BCCI. The partnership between Viacom18 and BCCI is more than just a business endeavour; it signifies a shared commitment to enhancing the landscape of cricket and contributing to its enduring legacy. This alliance holds within its core the potential to shape narratives, inspire audiences, and redefine the benchmarks of success.”

BCCI Honorary Jt. Secretary, Mr Devajit Saikia said: “It is with immense pleasure that I extend a warm welcome to Viacom18. I would also like to express my heartfelt appreciation to all the bidders who participated in this process, showcasing their enthusiasm to contribute to India Cricket’s ongoing journey of growth. The story of Indian Cricket has been one of continuous progress and evolution, and I am delighted to witness the unwavering commitment from our stakeholders. This resolute confidence stands as a testament to the enduring allure and potential of Indian Cricket, reaffirming our shared determination to elevate the sport to even greater heights.”

“MotoGP Bharat race is the biggest motorcycling spectacle to happen in the history of motorcycling sports in India”

India is ready to witness an adrenaline-fueled extravaganza like never before as it gears up to host its inaugural MotoGP event. iSportConnect’s Taruka Srivastav spoke with Pushkar Nath Srivastav, Founder of Fairstreet Sports which is organising the MotoGP Bharat to know more.

How was India chosen as the host country?

India is the world’s largest motorcycle market, with 18 Million plus bikes sold annually growing at a healthy pace of 13%. Even though the belly of the market is the lower cc segment the pace of growth for the higher cc bikes is on the rise with a currently growing percentage of 6% bikes in the > 250CC segment. Interestingly the market size of premium bikes is pegged at a whopping 45K Crores which means that the mindset for premium motorcycles is growing.

India being one of the youngest countries in the world with a median age of under 35 means that motorcycling as a culture is widely accepted and projected to be a form of lifestyle for a majority as well. In short the timing for the India GP couldn’t have been better because India is poised to transform as a motorcycling epicentre and building a race IP will only mean that a strong road for the future is paved by imbibing the culture of premium bike racing and motor sports.

How are the preparations going?

The preparations are going on a grand scale to say the least. As it is a global race there are strict guidelines and SOP’s which have to be adhered to as there is no room for error or sub optimal approaches. To briefly share about our preparations, the Buddh International Circuit which is a global renowned name, is going through a complete overhaul with multiple international teams deployed on track and the circuit, other backend teams from various functions have also been engaged to create an experience which goes much beyond the race.

What is the kind of agreement that India has with Dorna Sports?

Fairstreet Sports, has received the promoter rights and the commercial licence in collaboration with FMSCI, to hold MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 races in India for 7 years, from 2023 onwards.

The Buddha International Circuit was originally built to organise F1 racing. What are the changes that were made on the track?

The fundamentals of a racing track remain the same, though FIM (the international federation for two-wheeler motorsport events) had a specific set of requirements with regards to the infrastructure and track modifications which had to be made. For instance, the banking curbs and gravel zones had to be re-laid and extended to ensure they comply to the FIM perquisites, other than that the overlaying of the bitumen and other chemical compounds to renew the track has been done by the global race technicians authorised by FIM. Overall, the track is race ready and the final touches are being carried out and a world class tarmac is all set to experience one of the best racing events this country has ever experienced.

How many people are expected to attend MotoGP live?

The MotoGP Bharat race is the biggest motorcycling spectacle to happen in the history of motorcycling sports in the country with over 250,000 spectators watching the race live, over the 3 day event. But what makes this event an even bigger attraction is that the weekend will see unlimited excitement and engagement making BIC a sought-after destination which will see a diverse range of audience from all across the country to have an experience of a lifetime with experiential Fan zones, Sunburn Festival and Food Festival that are planned for the weekend. In terms of crowd management, the UP Government has deployed a special task force from various departments which include local authorities, the Gautam Buddh Nagar Police and Fire Department to name a few which are geared up to make this event a smooth and memorable experience.

How many jobs do you expect to generate thanks to this event?

The number of employment opportunities, through the preparation and execution of this event, is expected to be more than 5,000.

Nottingham Forest inks shirt partnership with Kaiyun

Nottingham Forest has announced a two-year partnership with Kaiyun Sports, the prominent Asian digital sports platform, as the Club’s official front of shirt partner.

This collaboration will see the Kaiyun Sports logo featured on Forest’s men’s first team shirts for the 2023/24 campaign. The partnership is set to kick-off this evening, debuting in Forest’s Carabao Cup second round match against Burnley at The City Ground.

Renowned across Asia as a leading digital sports platform, Kaiyun Sports are continuing to build on their extensive partnerships with some of Europe’s leading clubs, including Real Madrid and Inter Milan.

The addition of Nottingham Forest to their partnership portfolio underscores the Reds’ growing presence back in top flight football and its ambitious strategy for growth on and off the pitch.

A Club spokesperson said: “We look forward to working closely with Kaiyun Sports on a number of exciting activations and initiatives to engage with new and existing audiences in Asia and across the world. Kaiyun Sports have a reputation for redefining the fan experience for global audiences of the Premier League and other dominant European leagues.”

Byrne Howard, Chief Marketing Officer of Kaiyun Sports, said: “The collaboration with Nottingham Forest Football Club will be a milestone for us to step onto the global stage.”

Kaiyun Sports’ innovative app integrates sports and entertainment, providing users with an immersive online and offline interactive service and sourcing its games from across more than 30 different sports worldwide.

Information for supporters who wish to have the partner logo applied retrospectively to this season’s shirts will be provided in due course.

SailGP to leverage T-Mobile’s 5G Network to elevate fan experience

SailGP has announced an expanded collaboration with T-Mobile for Business for Seasons 4 and 5 spanning 2023 through 2025.

SailGP will leverage a 5G Hybrid Mobile Network from T-Mobile’s 5G Advanced Network Solutions (5G ANS) portfolio to further elevate fan experience with innovative, immersive views of live race action and provide SailGP athletes advanced on-water performance analysis.

For fans, T-Mobile’s 5G Advanced Network Solutions technology is now powering new action cameras mounted on SailGP’s 10 F50s — 50-foot flying catamarans that race at speeds upwards of 60 mph — that provide live POV broadcast feeds to help bring fans into the on-board action from the athlete’s point of view.

Here’s how it works: all SailGP’s F50s are now 5G-connected and feature POV cameras that are used to stream live, high-definition video from each F50 to SailGP’s London broadcast studio. These wireless cameras are embedded with 5G modules making them ideal for mounting where needed on the F50s, and can utilize AI to track athlete movement, ensuring that every moment of action is captured.

“We’re constantly pushing the boundaries of what 5G can do for consumers and businesses,” said Callie Field, president, T-Mobile Business Group. “Delivering fast and reliable analytics along with immersive viewing experiences in a tough offshore environment is a literal game changer.” 

5G is also enabling another breakthrough for athletes. During the Oracle Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix, SailGP strategists on board carried 5G-equipped handsets that provide live race data to help them make key tactical decisions in real-time — all while flying over the water at highway speeds with nine other F50 catamarans in close proximity.

“SailGP and T-Mobile for Business are committed to pushing the boundaries on innovative ways to bring fans into the middle of the action through on-board, live camera views,” said Warren Jones, SailGP’s chief technology officer. “Plus, our athletes can now access real-time data, which further accelerates the decision-making capabilities for our 10 national teams.”

Across the SailGP F50 fleet, 125 sensors are mounted on each F50, sending 300,000 data points every second through T-Mobile’s 5G routers, resulting in 48 billion data points in just one race day. “Our F50 catamarans are essentially massive Internet of Things (IoT) devices that also provide incredible entertainment for fans whether they’re in person or watching from around the world,” said Jones.

As the official 5G partner for SailGP events in the U.S., T-Mobile for Business will be prominently featured at each of the four U.S. events in 2023/24’s Season 4, including next summer’s Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix in June, 2024 and the SailGP Season 4 Grand Final in San Francisco in July, 2024. Additionally, T-Mobile for Business continues as the official 5G partner of the United States SailGP Team.

iSportConnect Sports Tech Index powered by SportsTech Match – 31st August

Who’s hot in Sports Tech? Who is doing deals, launching new products and generally doing some of the best work in the sector? That’s what the Index attempts to dig into. Whether established players or the up-and-coming stars, we go a little deeper for you…

Edition number seven of the sports tech index sees Fanbase (fan engagement platform) hold on to the #1 spot for the third consecutive week following another six new client announcements (including four British Basketball League clubs) in the month of August.

Genius Sports (sports data) achieve their highest position so far at #2 as a result of fresh announcements of an expanded partnership with British tabloid newspaper, The Sun, and a new partnership with the Pro Pickleball Tour. They are followed in the top 5 by Sport:80 (NGB and sports membership management) at #3, Sportradar (sports data) at #4 and both Ticketmaster (ticketing) and Seat Unique (ticketing) who ranked fifth equal. 

Appearing in our top 20 for the first time are Piing (massive multiplayer games) at #17 and Iterpro (all-in-one sports data management platform) at #20, who both announced new deals in August which, on top of sustained activity over the past 12 months, was enough to get them into our top 20.

Want to know more?

Subscribe to the SportsTech Match monthly newsletter for an overview of the activity that generated points towards the index this month (via the footer on the website).

The iSportConnect Sports Tech Index is designed to help rights owners and investors quickly assess who is “hot” from a product and new business perspective and provides sports tech vendors with an incentive to focus their PR announcements on what matters to the market. It follows a simple scoring system (see below).

The iSportConnect Sports Tech Index is published on a monthly basis on iSportConnect.com.

Click here to read more about how the Index is calculated.