AI's Craziest Idea Yet Will Change Football Forever!

June 16, 2023

Welcome back to The Sports Road! Bringing you the very best that the sports-tech world has to offer, we’re here to share some of the most interesting stories you may have missed this week. Think of us like that midweek game you didn’t realise was on, here whenever you need us…

Here's what we got for ya today:

  • Football’s Changing Forever…

  • Sailing is in The Game!

  • Softball’s Comeback?

  • Boxing, Boxing, Boxing

Most Valuable Sports Teams:

Let's get into it!

AI is Changing Football Forever…

At this point we sound like a broken record, but AI IS CHANGING THE GAME FOREVER!

Whether it be in performance, statistics, or broadcasting, we’ve seen AI impact sport consumption at a more rapid pace than ever before.

Well, now it may actually be changing Football for good… In fact, this could be the start of the games’ first ever global league!

Alright, alright. Let us explain:

Founded in Melbourne, One Future Football (1FF) is looking to leverage AI to bring new fans to Football in a way we have NEVER seen before…

In essence, despite using complex forms of AI, the concept is pretty easy to grasp.

Made up of 12 different teams, the company is looking to virtually simulate the inner workings of real-life Football. Here’s what we know so far:

  • Teams will play against each other twice – home and away

  • The league will be decided using a playoff system

  • Similarly to Football Manager, results will be determined by using two separate AI engines. One will calculate thousands of outcomes for games depending on touches, passes, shots, and more, while the other will focus on generating real-life scenarios that players will act out.

In the system there are 250 players, each being created with a unique backstory and personality. Planning to engage further with fans, these factors will be representative of players’ behaviours and relationships.

Backed by athletes like Kamaru Usman, Jesse Lingard, Patrice Evra, and more, in an effort to further reach out to fans, many of the teams are actually owned by celebrities!

Engagement doesn’t end there though. With there being a lack of sport during the off-season, 1FF are looking to interact with fans who don’t currently have that weekly engagement with their favourite teams.

As a result, fans will actually be able to influence training, player signings, sponsors, and more.

This could end up having some pretty big impacts…

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Sailing x WEB3

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. There’s nothing better than talking about a new sport on The Sports Road 🙏

So with that, you may be wondering what in the world we are on about…

Well, Sailing is in Web3!

If you don’t know about SailGP, they’re actually one of the world's most interesting sports out there. With an ambition to become the most sustainable and purposeful global sport, the league uses unseen-before technology to power the highest level of competitive sailing out there.

In extending their deal with technology firm, Oracle, SailGP will be creating their very own blockchain-based experience.

Named ‘The Dock’, the platform will be used as a means to showcase exclusive content and increase fan engagement.

Those who register will be in contention to win prizes and rewards which include VIP access, athlete experiences, and more…

With the platform also looking to provide interactive elements through games, quizzes, and media content, players will be able to gain points and allow them experiences unlike ever before.

“Oracle’s cloud technology is at the heart of everything we do at SailGP, and this partnership extension reflects the power and results of our collaboration… We have no doubt Oracle will take our fan and athlete experience to even greater heights in the seasons to come and The Dock is a great example of this.”

Warren Jones, Chief Technology Officer at SailGP

Announcing the platform's creation right before the start of season 4 this weekend, it's clear to see where the organisation's interests lie.

Aiming to bring in a new set of fans, the sky truly is the limit for SailGP!

Baseball Will NEVER be The Same…

With most major sports being off for the summer, many of us have flocked to the old reliables, Softball and Baseball.

And with that, it looks like some big changes are coming to Softball. Some which have never been seen before…

Look. In sport, the more information, the better. While helping inform scouting and coaching, the data points provide fans with a better picture of what’s actually happening in the game – especially casuals. You know who you are…

In a deal bound to change the sport for the better, Yakkertech, a leading company in performance capture and tracking, and SoftballCloud have teamed up with Athletes Unlimited to bring real time ball flight data into the sport for the first time ever.

“This collaboration marks a major milestone for softball as the first time in-flight ball metrics have been displayed during a live softball broadcast. Following Major League Baseball's implementation of this technology in 2015, we are excited to demonstrate the immense potential of data analytics in softball and to work to grow the sport to reach new heights.”

Kevin Davidson, CEO of SoftballCloud and Yakkertech.

Bringing an entirely different level of tracking to the sport, its content will become easier to consume and fans may just begin to flock to it.

And if so, it looks like they can expect some more changes…

Planning to extend the partnership across numerous projects, the organisations will look to explore opportunities involving 3D visualisations, advertising, and data!

Softball fans, this is definitely one to keep an eye on…

We Need to Talk About: Misfits Boxing

At this point it feels as though every single time that Misfits releases a card, we just have to talk about.

To be honest with you guys, originally we were going to talk about something completely different. BUT, this is absolutely absurd.

If you don’t know about Misfits, as you can tell by their name, they – how do we put this – don’t really work according to the book…

Founded by internet sensation, KSI, the Boxing promotion primarily involves themselves with putting on fights between online personalities.

While fairly unusual, that isn’t actually the craziest part.

Aiming to bring a whole new fan base to Boxing, the organisation has taken to using some pretty unconventional methods…

Whether it be surprise opponents, tag team fights, or that time when KSI literally had two fights in one night, the team have tailored their content to suit a very certain demographic – one which ‘traditional’ fans would probably have something to say about. Especially when they hear the organisation's newest announcement…

Survivor tag, welcome to Boxing…

That’s right. In a blockbuster release, the company announced that – on the next pay-per-view – there will be a fight set under the following rules:

The fight will start in a tag team based format, with fighters being able to tag in and out whenever they feel. If one competitor refuses to compete or is knocked out, they will be eliminated. The winner? LAST MAN STANDING…

Boxing in 2023, hey? 😂

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