Well, That's Not Good...

March 29, 2023

It’s Wednesday, and a midweek special! Welcome back to The Sports Road - the number one spot for your Sport and Tech favourites... Enjoy!

Here's what we got for ya today:

  • Bye VAR! 👋

  • A Smart Hoop

  • Boxing’s Comeback

  • AI’s New Fitness App

Most valuable public market sports teams

Let's get into it!

VAR in The Bin!

Football is riddled with controversy - from Barcelona’s refereeing troubles to Juventus’ big point deduction, nothing divides Football fans quite like this…

Guess it yet? (drumroll please 🥁🥁🥁)

VAR! It just had to be, didn’t it…

Introduced to bring a greater degree of fairness and accuracy to the Sport, the video assistant referee has been subject to serious criticisms. These include:

  • Time Consuming: One of the major criticisms of VAR is that it disrupts the flow of a game. With delays taking up to four minutes to review footage, many state that the excitement of the game is stripped away

  • Subjectivity: Being looked at by a team of human officials, disagreements can arise over what constitutes a clear and obvious error. Many say that this can lead to inconsistencies - something heavily associated with VAR in its current form…

  • Offsides: Only having a select number of angles to review footage, determining whether a player is offside has been hugely controversial. Debates over its accuracy are rife. 

With all that, it begs the question: Has VAR created more questions than answers? Well, the Swedish FA certainly think that…

Yep, the Swedish FA have stated that – in its current form – there is no chance that VAR will be implemented in the Swedish game.

"So long as you haven’t solved the issue on how you can implement that technology so it doesn’t affect the game for the fans, then I think there will be quite a strong opposition to it for a long time. And with some merit. It’s an important issue to put on there... The day we find VAR so well broken-in that it’s just a seamless help for referees to make better decisions, I think it will be implemented also in Sweden.”

Mats Enquist, Swedish FA Chief  

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Swish!🏀

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again - Technology is taking over Basketball!

Look, at this point we've seen a lot of ‘Smart’ things on The Sports Road. From the SmartSock to the SmartGoggles, we get it - but this one’s really really cool… A Smart Hoop!

This is how it works: 

  • Their product – Huupe – is a basketball hoop that is connected to a digital system, which collects data on shots that are made, missed, or hit on the hoop. 

  • The hoop is built to withstand tough conditions, including water and rough handling, and is as strong as a regulation hoop.

  • The backboard is a video screen made from reinforced glass and equipped with computer vision technology. 

  • This screen can show coaches, trainers, and players demonstrating training sessions. 

  • Using AI, the computer vision system can track a player's performance and provide feedback to help them improve. 

Yep, we live in a society where your Basketball hoop can double as your trainer. SOMEONE MAKE IT MAKE SENSE!

So you may ask - why now?

Well, Huupe has just received an investment of $11 million! With the investment being backed by NBA star Thaddeus Young, we’re sure that the Huupe is destined for big things!

Boxing's Slow Resurgence

It feels like we’re talking about what can save Boxing every couple of days…

But really, at points it does feel as though the Sport has reached a point whereby something radical is needed to restore it back to the glory days.

For the hard work that fighters go through to be taken away by a bad decision simply is not far. Don’t believe us? Listen to Boxing legend, Roy Jones Jr:

"To see an opposition hand be raised by judges who were crooked, to have a wrong and injustice not being fixed. I can never forget that feeling, when they raised his hand over mine”

Roy Jones Jr

With bad decision after bad decision, the Sport needs a new spark; and we think we may know what that is…

AI, of course! This isn’t the first time we’ve touched upon the potential impacts of AI on Boxing, but it’s for good reason - the current judging system needs a complete revamp!

So here’s the solution: This week the McLaren Global Sport Solutions (MGSS) introduced their new AI scoring technology in the Women’s World Championship. The software, created to detect foul bouts and remove bias, can background check and remove judges if necessary.

For a more in-depth understanding of how the AI works, read more here.

Dollar Dollar!

We’ve all been there - really wanting to get some exercise in, but going to the gym is too much of an effort and home workouts are simply too boring…

Well, GoJoe is here to change that!

Founded in 2018, the app is designed to replicate some of the fitness activities the two founders, Will Turner and Phil Steele had performed in University.   

With the software being based in AI, users’ wearable technology links to their devices to display many different elements of your fitness journey.

And guess what!? The app has a social side as well. Yep, using it you can enable workplaces and brands to connect and engage employees!

So here’s why we’re talking about them today.

Well, this week GoJoe has raised over $1.2 million in investment! The investors? For Manchester United star Michael Carrick and other big names…

“This round will enable us to significantly scale and internationalise our B2B SaaS product, offering workplaces a new, innovative way to connect and engage their employees and give their staff something they actually love using.”

Gojoe’s Funding Team

It looks like GoJoe is here to stay!

 Quick bites

Meme of the day

All of us during international break... 

Quote of the day

"Chemistry is a class you take in high school or college, where you figure out two plus two is 10, or something."

Dennis Rodman

Photo of the day

England's New Record Top Scorer!

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Chat to ya on Friday! ☮️