🥇 ⚽ 🍺 #11: Is the Premier League the hair of the dog to our Olympics hangover?

Welcome to Issue #11 of Innovation in Sport, your regular round-up of the latest innovations and trends in sports & esports media, creativity, experience & impact.

I’ll admit to experiencing Olympics withdrawal last week. I was instantly missing the daily flow of captivating stories, the nightly witnessing of pure emotion, and the general spectacle of talented athletes performing at the very highest level of human capability. 

It’s maybe the first time in living memory that I’ve approached the first weekend of the Premier League season with an attitude of “I guess this will have to do instead”. 

It genuinely had me wondering if the Paris Olympics has now set a new, extremely high bar for how sports can be experienced as a shared spectacle. Paris 2024 was the perfect storm of a global event, very well run, in an iconic setting, starring athletes with personalities and compelling backstories, then amplified by a generation of Internet creators, many athletes amongst them, who have the smarts to spot and share moments that will truly resonate with culture at large.

From Snoop Dogg’s wholesome and entertaining ever-presence to Raygunn the Australian breaker, Yusuf Dikec the Turkish shooter with strong casual dad vibes, Kim Yeji the South Korean shooter who looked like an assassin, to Femke Bol’s incredible 4x400m relay performance, and Novak Djokovic’s raw emotion at finally winning Olympic gold - every day generated a raft of iconic moments and shareable memes. 

A colleague asked us yesterday to share some of the top social media trends we’ve seen recently. And with the obvious exception of brat summer and demure/mindful/cutesy, it was hard to think of many that weren’t Olympics-related. I don’t recall another sporting event that has had such an impact on social media culture, at least on a global scale.

It will be interesting to see if this new uber tier of cultural impact and engagement remains exclusively the preserve of truly global moments like the Olympics, or whether there are lessons that competitions like the Premier League, or US Open in the coming weeks can take forward to make a similar impact.

We’re also less than a week away from the start of the Paralympic Games. We already know that the broadcast and sponsor investment isn’t as high as with the Olympics, but will social media work its magic and help make sure that our Paralympians also enjoy the attention and support that their efforts truly deserve? We will see.              

On to this week’s edition…

Who actually won the Olympics?

From most total medals, to most total golds, most medals per capita, GDP, ‘Vs expected medals’, or other calculations, the fairest way to rank nations’ Olympics performance is open to debate.

This article has a neat widget that allows you to compare and contrast various methods, including the new ‘Goldilocks method’ that experts say is the fairest of them all.

POLL OF THE WEEK

💡 INNOVATION x SPORTS 🦾

⚽ Football Social Media was abuzz on Saturday morning as footage of this enormous screen viewing experience of Manchester United v Fulham, in a bar in LA, started doing the rounds: 

Is this the future of the sports bar sports viewing experience?

⚽ New Season, New Tech: In this football innovation deep dive, SportsPro explore the innovations making their Premier League debut during the 2024/25 season.

⚽ Genius Sports have been appointed as the Premier League’s semi-automated officiating supplier.   

Enabling faster, more detailed decision-making, GeniusIQ’s AI capabilities instantly create a digital twin of the game, facilitating incredibly precise offside decisions and broadcast-ready graphics. 

Even the tightest of calls can be made in seconds, minimising the wait for fans both at home and in the stadium.

🎾 Tennis fans can now invest in their favourite players through Commonwealth. The sports investing platform allows members to buy shares in up-and-coming athletes to help support them in their careers.

📱 Digital health apps have been linked to significant lifestyle improvements. Research involving over 200,000 participants shows that digital tools can help users take more steps, eat better and sleep more soundly, offering new opportunities for fitness professionals

🤾‍♀️ WOMEN'S SPORT ⛹️‍♀️

⚽ Women’s Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL) has taken over responsibility for the Barclays Women’s Super League and Barclays Women’s Championship from the FA. Each club participating in these leagues will act as a shareholder in the new company.

The agreement spearheads a new era, dedicated to driving growth and maximising potential, placing players and fans at the core.

🥇 Women’s sports received more primetime broadcast Olympic coverage than men’s sports for the fifth Olympiad in a row, according to analysis.

BE FEATURED IN INNOVATION IN SPORT!

Do you have a project, product, or story you think is of interest to the IIS audience of sports & esports industry professionals, brand partners, agencies and well-informed sports fans?

Please get in touch to discuss options such as brief mentions, featured stories, profiles, or sponsorships.

🌍 IMPACT & SUSTAINABILITY 🌍

🥇 The IOC has launched the Olympism365 Innovation Hub, in collaboration with Beyond Sport and Women Win, to support a diverse community of innovators leading new and impactful approaches to sport for sustainable development.
The Hub will:

• Incubate cutting-edge innovations that maximise the positive impact of sport

• Facilitate knowledge-sharing and learning across the sports movement and social innovation

• Support organisations and individuals around the world through investments that will benefit thousands of people and communities by 2026

• Broker partnerships and engage diverse sectors — in and out of sport — to foster new solutions and lasting development in sport for social change

For further information visit: https://lnkd.in/ebAEB55Z 

👨🏽‍🤝‍👨🏼 FAN EXPERIENCE 🏟️

⚽ The Premier League’s age timebomb: 
The New York Times investigates the precarious situation whereby high prices and low supply are keeping young fans away from live football.

🎮 ESPORTS 🎮

🎾 With the US Open upon us, gamers have a number of ways they can engage with the tournament beyond the on-court action.

In ‘Tennis Storm’ within Fortnite players use tennis rackets to hit explosive balls, Roblox players can compete against each other to unlock special UGC in Champions of the court, Mobile Gamers can join in US Open fever via ‘Tennis Clash’, and visitors to Flushing Meadows can try all of these and more in a special Advantage Gaming Arena onsite.

⚽ FIFAe have announced the first-ever multi-title ‘FIFAe Next Gen’ event in Liverpool

⚽ Man City Esports, the esports division of Manchester City, has renewed its collaboration with world-leading esports organisation Gen.G.

📷 CREATIVITY IN SPORT 📷

🥇 Fast making a name for themselves as advocates of inclusivity in sports, Orange have released a new video ahead of the Paralympics that challenges the misconception that the Paralympics isn’t as competitive as the Olympics by highlighting occasions when Paralympians have achieved better times than their Olympian counterparts.

Access the video via this article.

⚽ With the Premier League back underway, it’s fair to say that adidas have won this season’s battle for both the best kits, and the best kit launch campaigns. Below are two of our favourites.

Full of authentic football culture, player and ex-player cameos, adidas are really connecting with the very essence of what it means to be a football fan.

You can’t beat an Original by Manchester United

Away day ready, by Newcastle United

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See you next time,

Adam Reed
Innovation in Sport