The importance of esports in football

Australia’s sports technology sector has reached a record $7.11 billion in annual revenue, highlighting the rapidly growing role of innovation across the country’s sporting landscape.

The latest Sports Innovation Report from the Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) found the sector grew by 16 per cent in FY2026, up from 10 per cent the previous year.

The growth has been accompanied by a significant expansion in employment, with the industry now supporting 20,604 jobs across 924 sportstech companies nationwide.

For a sporting nation increasingly reliant on data, technology and digital innovation, the figures point to an industry that is moving well beyond its emerging phase and becoming an important part of Australia’s broader sporting economy.

A sector entering a new phase

The latest figures represent the fifth edition of ASTN’s annual Sports Innovation Report and show that Australia’s sportstech ecosystem is becoming increasingly mature.

While the number of companies increased by only 1.8 per cent during FY2026, revenue growth accelerated significantly, suggesting that existing businesses are scaling rather than the industry simply expanding through the creation of new startups.

The 115 largest companies now account for 89 per cent of total revenue, generating $6.30 billion, while also representing 74 per cent of total employment.

That concentration highlights the emergence of a group of Australian sportstech companies capable of competing at scale both domestically and internationally.

Companies including Catapult Sports, PMY Group, Bodd, VALD and Champion Data have been identified among the businesses driving the sector’s growth.

For football, the development of this ecosystem is particularly significant.

Technology is now embedded across almost every level of the modern game; from athlete tracking and performance analysis to injury prevention, coaching, broadcasting, stadium operations and fan engagement.

ASTN identifies nine major sportstech categories, including athlete performance and injury prevention, wearable technology, sports analytics and coaching, media and fan engagement, stadium and venue operations, and equipment and surfaces.

Football’s data revolution

The increasing sophistication of sports technology has transformed how football clubs understand performance.

Wearable technology and tracking systems can provide coaches and performance staff with detailed information about player workloads, physical output and movement, while analytics platforms allow teams to examine performance at a level that would have been impossible only a generation ago.

Australian companies have been at the forefront of that development.

Champion Data, for example, has become a major player in sports data and analytics, while companies such as Catapult have developed technology used by elite sporting organisations around the world.

The impact is not restricted to professional football.

As technology becomes more accessible, similar tools are increasingly being introduced into academies, community sport and grassroots environments, potentially allowing clubs at all levels to improve player development, coaching and administration.

The next stage of that evolution could be driven by artificial intelligence.

ASTN has identified AI in sport, esports and international trade as three of the key themes expected to drive future growth in the sector.

AI could increasingly influence everything from opposition analysis and recruitment to automated content creation, personalised fan experiences and coaching support.

Brisbane 2032 could accelerate the next wave

One of the most significant opportunities identified in the report is Australia’s upcoming hosting of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Queensland is already emerging as one of the country’s fastest-growing sportstech markets, with ASTN reporting a 20 per cent increase in established sportstech companies in the state.

The organisation expects Queensland to overtake New South Wales in both business numbers and employment by FY2028 if current trends continue.

The Brisbane 2032 opportunity is particularly relevant for football.

The tournament will bring major investment in sporting infrastructure, technology, venues and digital experiences, while also creating an international showcase for Australian companies looking to export their products and services.

The Queensland Government and ASTN have already established an initiative designed to strengthen the state’s sportstech ecosystem, connect local businesses with international networks and build the capabilities required ahead of Brisbane 2032.

The opportunity extends beyond the Olympic Games themselves.

With Queensland increasingly positioning itself as a major destination for international sporting events, the state’s sportstech ecosystem could benefit from sustained demand for technology across venues, broadcasting, participation, performance and fan engagement.

Melbourne remains Australia’s sportstech capital

Despite Queensland’s rapid growth, Victoria remains Australia’s leading sportstech state.

Victoria accounts for 38 per cent of Australia’s sportstech companies, followed by New South Wales at 26 per cent and Queensland at 23 per cent.

Together with the ACT, the eastern states account for 88 per cent of the country’s sportstech businesses and more than 93 per cent of sector revenue and employment.

Melbourne alone accounts for 39 per cent of total sector revenue.

The city’s existing sporting infrastructure, concentration of professional sporting organisations, universities, technology companies and major events has helped establish it as the country’s central sportstech ecosystem.

That creates opportunities across football, with Victoria home to the Australian Professional Leagues, Football Victoria, numerous professional and semi-professional clubs, academies and one of Australia’s largest grassroots football communities.

Technology moving beyond the elite game

Perhaps the most important development for football is the extent to which sportstech is no longer limited to professional clubs.

More than one in four Australian sportstech businesses now service industries outside sport, including health, defence, events, media and education.

At the same time, new technologies are increasingly being designed with participation and community sport in mind.

Recent developments across Australia’s sportstech ecosystem include AI-powered analytics for grassroots basketball, digital learning platforms for coaches and officials, and technology designed to improve club operations and participation.

For football, this could eventually mean smarter club administration, more accessible performance analysis, improved coach education and greater use of technology to identify and retain participants.

The challenge will be ensuring that innovation does not become something available only to Australia’s wealthiest clubs.

If the benefits of technology can be scaled down to the grassroots level, the potential impact could extend far beyond elite performance.

A global opportunity for Australian innovation

Australia’s sportstech sector is also increasingly looking beyond its domestic market.

The APAC region currently represents around 10 per cent of global sportstech activity, while the United States and Western Europe remain the dominant markets. ASTN has identified international trade and the ability for Australian companies to scale globally as important opportunities for the sector.

That presents an opportunity for Australian sport to become not only a consumer of new technology, but an exporter of it.

Australian companies are already operating internationally across areas including athlete performance, analytics, sports equipment and digital innovation.

The country’s strong sporting culture provides a natural testing ground for new technologies, while major events such as Brisbane 2032 can provide a platform to showcase those innovations to an international audience.

The next decade

The $7.11 billion figure demonstrates that sportstech is no longer a niche part of Australia’s sporting economy.

It is becoming an industry in its own right, employing more than 20,000 people and supporting hundreds of companies across the country.

For football, the implications could be significant.

From the way players train and recover to how coaches analyse matches, clubs recruit talent, supporters consume games and grassroots organisations operate, technology is steadily changing almost every part of the football ecosystem.

With AI, analytics, wearables and digital platforms continuing to develop — and Brisbane 2032 providing a major catalyst for investment — Australia’s position as a global sportstech hub could strengthen considerably over the next decade.

The challenge now is ensuring that the benefits of that growth reach the entire sporting pyramid.

If that happens, Australia’s $7.11 billion sportstech industry could ultimately prove to be about far more than technology.

It could help shape the way Australians play, watch, experience and understand sport.