How technology is changing sports on and off the field

Over the past few decades, technology has significantly transformed the sports landscape. Most evidently, athlete performances are now recorded, monitored and analysed in minute detail, using data-driven insights from smartwatches, wearable trackers, and personalised fitness programmes. These tools, once exclusive to elite athletes, have since become available to everyone who practises sports at the recreational or amateur level. This democratisation of performance-enhancing technologies is effectively redefining what it means to be an “athlete” in modern day sports.

But the impact of technology goes far beyond athlete performance. It has implications for the entire ecosystem of sports stakeholders, affecting fans, coaches and sporting officials alike. For fans, technology is changing not just how they watch sports, but also how they experience and engage with it. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, for example, augmented reality (AR) offered fans new, digital ways to immerse themselves into the Games from the comfort of their homes. Coaches and teams are now equipped with real-time data and video analytics, allowing them to adjust strategies mid-game. Meanwhile, referees and umpires rely on technologies like the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system to make more accurate calls.

Indeed, technology is fundamentally changing the roles and responsibilities of sports stakeholders, which has ripple effects across the entire sports landscape. The lines between live and digital fan experiences have become increasingly blurred, which required broadcasters to enhance digital engagement through interactive features and viewing experiences, as previously exemplified. Coaches now rely less on intuition and more on data-driven strategies, which in turn influences how athletes are evaluated, placing greater emphasis on measurable performance metrics. Officiating technologies like VAR, while enhancing decision accuracy, also introduce match delays and more rigid rule interpretations.

With continuous technological advancements changing how sports are played, experienced and governed, there are also growing concerns around access and equity in sports. Specifically, there is a growing risk that professional sports, especially men’s competitions with greater financial resources, will continue to accelerate away from lower leagues, amateur levels, and even professional women’s teams. High-end training facilities, analytics teams, and technologies like VAR are often inaccessible at lower levels, widening the gap between digitalized professional sports and the more traditional versions most people partake in at the lower levels.

Still, there are signs of progress. Since VAR was officially introduced in 2016, simplified versions like VAR Light and the Football Video Support (FVS) system have been developed to serve competitions with fewer resources. In 2024, FVS was even trialled at an international youth tournament in women’s football, which is a small but positive step forward. Just as smartwatches and fitness trackers became more accessible over time, there is also hope that similar technologies will help bridge the gap between professional and amateur sports.

As technology will undoubtedly continue to change the sports landscape, comprehensive governance and understanding of implemented technologies are crucial to ensure their benefits are widely shared and accessible at all levels.