FFA Cup streaming on Kayo – what benefits do NPL clubs get

Recently, it was announced that live streaming service Kayo would be streaming FFA Cup matches from the round of 32 onwards.

Kayo is a predominantly sports-based streaming service that streams elite sport such as the AFL, A-League and Test Cricket.

Having Kayo on board as a streaming partner for the FFA Cup is a great achievement for the game at the NPL level, one that must not be understated.

NPL football has seen a resurgence in recent years, thanks in part to the exposure gained through the FFA Cup. Teams such as Heidelberg United, Bentleigh Greens and Hume City, clubs who have defeated A-League opposition in the past, have had the most exposure.

It’s been an inspired decision by the FFA to create such a competition, one that allows clubs at the community level to thrive.

But with Kayo now on board, more people than ever will have access to the fixtures. A-League clubs especially, will benefit the most from this unprecedented access,

As we know, A-League sides like to use the tournament as a way of scouting the talent in the lower leagues. Current Melbourne Victory players Jai Ingham and Kenny Athiu are perfect examples of this.

But now, clubs from outside their respective states will have greater opportunity to scout and target players they may want to offer contracts to.

In turn, aspiring young players with the ambition of playing at a higher level will now be motivated further knowing that there is more people watching than ever before.

With Kayo being a streaming provider for elite sports, broadcasting the FFA Cup will hopefully draw in a larger crowd of people who don’t usually watch the competition.

It will benefit the game at the community level to no end and with the FFA clearly taking steps to try and implement a second division, it seems just a matter of time until that happens.

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Liverpool FC Teams Up with SAS in Multi-Year AI Marketing Deal

Under a new multi-year deal, Liverpool FC has partnered with analytics and software company SAS as its Official AI Marketing Automation Partner, integrating advanced data and AI technology into the club’s marketing and fan engagement activities.

As part of the agreement, Liverpool will deploy SAS Customer Intelligence 360 and SAS Viya, leveraging the platforms to enable marketing automation, campaign orchestration and data-driven decision-making across large consumer environments.

The integration of SAS technology is designed to optimise campaign operations and efficiency, while supporting deeper audience segmentation and more personalised fan engagement.

Moving beyond a typical logo-led sponsorship, the Liverpool–SAS partnership is built around technology adoption, with SAS tools woven into Liverpool’s marketing processes to influence how campaigns are created, evaluated and improved.

Chief Commercial Officer, Ben Latty highlighted the role of SAS technology in enhancing efficiency and insight across the club.

“Our partnership with SAS represents an important step in how we continue to evolve our marketing approach. Integrating their technology will give our team access to powerful tools – including SAS Customer Intelligence 360 platform and SAS Viya – that will help streamline our work and support better decision-making,” he said via press release.

SAS Chief Marketing Officer, Jennifer Chase underscored how the partnership leverages data and AI to elevate the fan experience for one of football’s most passionate global audiences.

“Liverpool FC has one of the most passionate fan bases in the world, and we’re proud to help elevate that experience through the power of data and AI. With SAS technology, the club can turn massive volumes of data into meaningful, real-time insights that allow us to get the right message, to the right fan, at the right time – connecting fans from Anfield to anywhere in the world,” she said via press release.

Alongside commercial operations, the deal includes a STEM-focused education element delivered in collaboration with the LFC Foundation, reflecting a growing trend for technology partnerships to blend enterprise deployment with community impact.

Measuring the Immeasurable: How StepOut is Transforming Football Analytics

Match analysis demands long hours of tedious, menial work. Analysts hand-crop clips, rewatch sequences and track every individual player, burning exorbitant amounts of time and money.

Even with entire teams dedicated to the task, analysts cannot fully interpret or understand the movements, positioning and actions of every player at every moment.

When Key Data Gets Lost

As a result, even large clubs allow critical data to fly under the radar. Professional analysis can misread causes, misconstrue effects and realise inaccurate conclusions. Players pay the price. When analysts miss key actions, they fail to properly assess individual contributions.

So much more goes into winning games than the striker who scores, or the keeper who saves. Collective pressure, positioning, and presence does. Its intangibility and sheer complexity means it can never be properly evaluated by humans.

StepOut addresses this gap with AI-powered software that streamlines and optimises the analytical process. Coaches upload a video recording of a match, and the platform produces clear, usable data analytics for every player. Unlike human analysts, StepOut evaluates every metric, movement and action simultaneously, without fatigue or bias.

The company’s mission is simple: deliver more accurate sports analytics that turn today’s talent into tomorrow’s stars. By extending elite-level analysis to under-resourced grassroots clubs, StepOut builds a more equal, merit-based football ecosystem.

Impact at the Frontline of Australian Football

Now partnered with more than 7,500 clubs worldwide, StepOut operates across Europe, Asia and the Americas. In Australia, its influence is most visible at the frontline of player development.

Partnerships with Football NSW, Geelong Galaxy, Kalamunda United and Manly United have integrated the platform into local pathways, embedding elite analysis into everyday training and match preparation.

Player Management Director at Football NSW, Phil Myall describes the software as “essential for coding player actions and offering stats that improve our strategy”, underscoring its growing role in how Australian clubs assess performance and develop talent.

Recognition from Football’s Elite

Internationally, StepOut has earned recognition through awards in Ajax’s Reimagine Football Challenge and Real Madrid’s Next Accelerator for Asia.

Ajax, renowned for its data-driven development model and tactical innovation, identified StepOut as a tool capable of enhancing talent identification and player growth. Real Madrid’s accelerator placed the platform among a select group of technologies shaping the future of football performance across emerging markets.

These accolades reinforce StepOut’s credibility at the highest level. In an industry crowded with untested analytics platforms and superficial metrics, endorsement from elite clubs signals trust, rigour and scalability. The recognition confirms that StepOut’s models deliver not just technical sophistication, but practical value in real football environments. For grassroots clubs and developing players, this validation matters. It ensures access to technology trusted by the game’s most powerful institutions.

At its core, StepOut builds its brand on accessibility and precision. The platform’s intuitive interface removes complexity rather than adding to it. Coaches do not need analytical backgrounds or data expertise; StepOut converts indecipherable VODs into clear, actionable insights. By lowering technical and financial barriers, the software empowers clubs that previously lacked access to advanced performance tools.

Redefining Performance in the Modern Game

Across the broader football ecosystem, StepOut is reshaping how the sport defines success and contribution. By measuring off-ball movement, spatial awareness and defensive cohesion, the platform captures the game’s unseen dimensions. This shift encourages smarter coaching, sharper scouting and a deeper understanding of football’s collective nature. Over time, it may reshape how clubs train, select and value players.

As StepOut expands across competitions and continents, its brand has become synonymous with clarity, fairness and innovation. It does not replace human judgement; it strengthens it. In a sport where marginal gains decide careers and outcomes, the ability to measure what was once immeasurable is transformative. StepOut is not just analysing matches, it is redefining how performance is understood and who earns the opportunity to be recognised.

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