World Cup Data Report 2022 | Understanding Football’s Digital Transformation

Football’s vast global following places the sport in the unique position for expansion. While already a major influence within popular culture, the game represents more than its feats on the pitch or during the finals of major tournaments. It’s off the field of play where the sport and its federations, leagues, and teams can continue to connect with fans via their digital infrastructure and therefore holds the potential to impact the digitalization and modernization of FIFA’s member associations (MA) and their respective markets beyond Qatar 2022.

The FIFA World Cup is therefore not only the pinnacle of the men’s and women’s game. It acts as a milestone which culminates and brings the sport together across continents. In a similar vein, the digital transformation of sport is shaping not only how individual organizations position themselves as commercial rights holders, but also provides benchmarks for excellence and innovation that serves the wider sporting ecosystem.

As we explore the current state of play of the 32 participating MAs at Qatar 2022, it cautions us to think of the changes that we might see by the time the industry congregates again for the FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, and how football’s digital evolution will continue to shape the future of direct-to-consumer media engagement, customer data acquisition and governance, and digital literacy within sports bodies worldwide.

Within the governing body’s vision for the sport, the FIFA Forward funding program has so far contributed to significant changes to football’s infrastructure, including notably the modernization of national stadia and technical centers. The program has approved more than US$2.4 billion worth of project funding since 2016 across football’s six confederations, including the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and its island nations, in addition to those represented at Qatar 2022.

Just as FIFA is focused on the modernization of its game, the first edition of our?World Cup Data Report 2022 | Understanding Football’s Digital Transformation?attempts to highlight the role digital transformation can play across the sports industry at large and its capacity to support the development of every sports property within the sporting pyramid. While FIFA and its quadrennial men’s World Cup sit high within the pyramid, it goes to show that the desire and opportunity to innovate runs deep within its top MAs and that digital transformation is inclusive to all of the world’s sporting nations, whatever their size or influence.

For every sports property seeking to grow its digital and data capabilities, it is vital that they continue to assess their technical aptitude on an ongoing basis, so as to recognize those opportunities to innovate.?N3XT Sports?supports the modernization of the sports industry and is looking forward to supporting the industry and its collective efforts to expand its digital horizon.