Beyond Sports: Transforming Sports Engagement

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Beyond Sports
Image Credit: Beyond Sports

Beyond Sports is a Dutch sports AI data analysis and visualisation organisation challenging and transforming the way sport is viewed and engaged with.

Founded in 2014 in the midst of the Brazil World Cup, Beyond Sports founders Sander Schouten and Nicolaas Westerhof felt there was a significant gap in the market for data driven visualisations that catered for both businesses and consumers.

Since then, Beyond Sports has bloomed in popularity and value, culminating in it being acquired by Sony in 2022.

Beyond Sports’ Solutions 

Driving Beyond Sports’ success is its wealth of solutions for a variety of markets and consumers, operating a number of unique progammes designed for B2B and B2C.

Many sport addicts may have unknowingly witnessed Beyond Sports’ work across its numerous contracts with high profile broadcasters and leagues like ESPN, Fox Sports, KPN, Sky Sports and more.

Virtual Reality 

Beyond Sports’ initial projects revolved around creating real life football matches within a virtual reality environment. A partnership with ChyronHego, Feyenoord and PSV assisted the organisation in creating the first ever live computer-generated VR football match, which was broadcast on Twitch to 37,000 viewers in 2017, demonstrating Beyond Sports’ ability to broker the cutting edge of technology.

The revolutionary project soon blossomed into a longstanding partnership with Fox Sports Eredivisie alongside KPN to create a fully interactive VR environment of each week’s best goals, allowing fans to pick and choose their favourite player’s perspectives of the action for free.

From such an innovative project, Beyond Sports then provided broadcasters like Fox Sports and Sky Sports with VR tools to more effectively analyse games.

Additionally, the organisation’s use of AI VR to capture on the ground perspectives of real matches has garnered the interest of many elite level clubs. By being able to review moments through a direct one-to-one perspective, coaches are able to more effectively scrutinise mistakes and convey instructions to players more clearly. Through this, Beyond Sports has gained partnerships with clubs such as Arsenal, AFC Ajax and AZ Alkmaar.

AI Animated Visualisations 

Capitalising on the organisation’s impressive momentum, Beyond Sports pivoted to alternative animated visualisations of live sporting events using the company’s world class AI across world class broadcasters and interactive gaming environments like Roblox.

Beyond Sports’ live visualisations most notably broke through into the consumer market via a partnership with Nickelodeon, CBS and Next Gen Stats. Through the collaboration, Beyond Sports used live positional data of the 2021 NFL Wildcard Game to create an alternative animated broadcast of the event in Beyond Sports’ signature “blockie style”. While the real game aired on CBS, the animated version was shown on Nickelodeon to major success, drawing millions of viewers and earning a 2021 Sports Emmy award. The collaboration was then repeated in 2022, with a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme.

To further drive and alter the way sport is typically viewed, Beyond Sports entered into a new collaboration with ESPN and the NFL to create a Disney Toy Story themed live animated broadcast of the Jaguars-Falcons London game in 2023. Like the prior Nickelodeon broadcasts, the live version of the game occurred simultaneously with the animated “Toy Story Funday Football” version. Displaying the game within Andy’s Room, the animated broadcast boomed in popularity. Beyond Sports’ work resulted in the animated game becoming the most viewed event on both ESPN+ and Disney+ ever and earning both Beyond Sports and ESPN three Sports Emmy awards.

In addition to the work Beyond Sports has done with the NFL, the organisation also has a long running partnership with the NHL. In 2023 and 2024 Beyond Sports created the Big City Greens Classic, an animated version of a live NHL game featuring characters from the Big City Greens Disney Channel show. Furthermore, Beyond Sports has also aided in the launch of the NHL’s “Hockeyverse”, a weekly condensed 30-minute animated version of a game that uses player tracking to feature stylized avatars battling it out on the ice.

Late last year, Beyond Sports also worked with the NBA to create the Dunk the Halls, an animated version of a live game featuring Disney characters.

Conclusion

While many people will still prefer to watch sports in a traditional format, Beyond Sports has found incredible success in creating new alternative methods of watching live events through its proficiency with AI to create VR and animated experiences.

For more information on Beyond Sports, check their website.

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GIS Sydney continues to connect students with Australia’s sports industry

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Image Credits: Global Institute of Sport

Following the launch of its Sydney campus in 2025, the Global Institute of Sport (GIS) is continuing to establish itself in the nation’s sports industry. A leading provider of degrees and executive education in sport, GIS provides students the chance to study at two of Australia’s biggest sporting venues: Allianz Stadium and the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).

Programs such as Sports Analytics and International Sports Business are delivered in collaboration with the University of Newcastle, and feature the chance for students to gain exclusive access to the sports industry.

More than 50 guest speakers have shared their experience with students studying at GIS Sydney, representing organisations like FIFA, Red Bull, Cricket Australia, and the AFL. While learning about the regional and national sports industry in the classroom, students have also had the chance to gain an international perspective through GIS’ signature Global Sports Summits, which have given Sydney students access to iconic sporting venues around the world from London to Miami.

Outside of the iconic venues students can call their classrooms, the organisation prioritises the real, industry placements needed to put theory into practice by providing each student with 140 hours of relevant work experience throughout their studies. Included in this are several sporting organisations who are keen to welcome GIS students on board, including the Professional Football Scouts Association (PFSA), Football Coaches Australia, and Basketball NSW.

GIS also has a partnership with popular network and app Yakka Sport to connect students with paid employment opportunities while they study.

Behind these advancements at the GIS Sydney campus is an Industry Advisory Board which features a host of experienced figures from the world of sport. Included in the Asia-Pacific branch is Chair James Rosengarten, GM of the Melbourne Renegades; Kevin Jang, Managing Director of CAA Stellar Korea; and Brad Lloyd, GM of the Carlton Football Club.

Since launching, GIS’ Sydney campus has ultimately combined its locations and industry connections to provide the next generation of sports professionals with the knowledge, network, and confidence to tackle the rapidly evolving sports industry.

Melbourne Victory partners with The Pass to expand fan experience

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Image Credit: Australian Professional Leagues

Melbourne Victory has added The Pass to its commercial portfolio, with the partnership designed to give supporters more ways to follow the club away from matchday.

The Pass becomes an ‘Associate Partner’ of Victory, while Hickens Hotel has been named the club’s ‘Official Away Game Venue Partner’. The arrangement will see the Russell Street venue host Victory watch parties and provide a dedicated gathering point for supporters during away fixtures.

The partnership also gives Victory supporters access to The Pass’ broader network of more than 200 venues around Australia, extending the relationship beyond a single location.

For Melbourne Victory, the deal forms part of a wider approach to creating commercial partnerships around the supporter experience rather than limiting sponsorship to traditional branding opportunities.

Hickens Hotel will host Victory fans for selected away matches, while The Pass will provide members with access to offers and experiences through its venue network.

The agreement also connects with Victory’s broader business community, with The Pass joining the club’s commercial network and creating potential opportunities for corporate engagement alongside its consumer-facing activity.

The partnership comes ahead of the 2026/27 A-League Men and Ninja A-League Women seasons, with Victory continuing to develop its commercial offering around both its membership base and matchday audience.

For The Pass, football provides a way to bring its network of hospitality venues into the supporter experience, giving fans a physical destination to watch matches when Victory is playing on the road.

The agreement reflects a broader trend across professional football, with clubs increasingly looking to partnerships that can provide tangible benefits to supporters while creating additional opportunities for commercial partners.

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