STN #107 - Data and DAO protagonists ??

?? Players' performance in a FIFA App ??

All players participating in the upcoming World Cup in Qatar will be able to easily access their performance data thanks to a dedicated mobile application created by FIFA.

World soccer's governing body will use manual and automated techniques to collect and analyze match events, data and metrics to measure players' performance in each match.

All of this data will then be synchronized with match footage and images and will be shared with each player shortly after the final whistle through the dedicated App.

"For the first time in a FIFA World Cup, not only participating teams but also all players will have the opportunity to directly access their performance data and related footage after each match," said Johannes Holzmüller, FIFA's director of soccer technology and innovation.

"This player-centric development is based on direct player feedback and is another great example of how FIFA is using technology to its fullest potential, improving the soccer experience for key players on the field."

There is a growing interest among players in their performance data and a growing awareness of the value and sensitivity of this information.?

In a little over a decade, FIFA has completely changed its approach to innovation from an organization that rejected goal-line technology (GLT) to one that has a dedicated technology unit and regularly holds workshops on the latest innovations in soccer.

One of the hallmarks of this strategy has been FIFA's desire to keep everything in-house at a time when the trend among rights holders is to partner with large technology companies.

?? Shifting governance to the fans: the first DAO in karate??

Shifting governance to fans and athletes to increase engagement: Karate Combat is the first professional sports league to launch a DAO!

The blockchain Hedera has partnered with Karate Combat to release the KARATE token. With the tokenization of the league, Karate Combat will become a DAO (i.e. a Decentralized Autonomous Organization): this means that a central authority will not control the organization, but governance will be transferred into the hands of fans and athletes.

The KARATE token will be used to power the DAO: fans and athletes will be able to use the KARATE token to vote on decisions that will affect the league, such as bouts, vendor selection, marketing strategy, and rule changes.

Karate Combat has extremely attractive numbers and has television distribution in more than 100 countries through partnerships with major media outlets, including CBS Sports, Globo, Eurosport, BeIN Sports, and ESPN Deportes.

Matches are also streamed for free on major global platforms, including Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and TikTok. According to Karate Combat, the league has an online community of more than 3.5 million fans that could potentially help guide future decisions.

Unlike fan tokens that give fans voting rights on marginal issues, Karate Combat wants to empower token owners to take control of the most relevant decisions, thus increasing engagement.??

?? Real-time AR to visualize data on Monday Night NFL ??

Data, as we have seen for FIFA, is critical to analyze and improve athlete performance, but it is also a powerful tool to engage fans through more engaging storytelling.

ESPN and Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution (DMED), after about two years of development, during the NFL Cowboys-Giants game, launched this new Augmented Reality data mode by showing the precise speed of Giants running back Saquon Barkley during a 36-yard touchdown run.

Immediately after Barkley's touchdown, viewers saw a replay of the run with an AR graphic showing his running route and exact speed at all times as he eluded Cowboys defenders toward the touchdown zone.

"From a technical standpoint, it's spatial AR based on real-time data," says Kaki Navarre, VP, software engineering, DMED.?

The system uses DMED's proprietary software and tools to synchronize real-time player and game data from the NFL's Next Gen Stats (NGS) platform with camera telemetry and live video to provide real-time, player-specific statistical visualization.?

Using Epic Games' Unreal Engine and Pixotope's AR creation technology, the DMED team can create real-time graphs that visually display live data.