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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Caelum Ferrarese is a Senior journalist with Soccerscene. He reports widely on micro policy within Australasia and industry disruptions at grassroots level.

Ticketchainer: A new look into sports ticketing management

Ticketchainer is a Paris-based tech company that is focusing on transforming the sports ticketing industry from a simple sales tool to a comprehensive e-commerce platform that is suited to the needs of its clients.

Founded in 2019, Ticketchainer has now worked with many sports clubs and organisations across France, including Ligue 2 side AC Ajaccio, offering a product that provides:

  • A personalised purchase journey with a customised user experience and interface, integrating the best e-commerce practices with a responsive design adapted to computers, tablets and smartphones.
  • A back office for ticketing management which configures events and subscriptions, while displaying real-time tracking of ticket sales and combined offers.
  • A fixed and mobile access control management through a dedicated mobile application, personal digital assistants (PDAs) with the Ticketchainer Application Programming Interface (API), or interfacing with existing fixed access control systems.

Co-founder and CEO of Ticketchainer, Sami Bouden, explains how the idea of Ticketchainer all came about in an article with ENSTA Paris:

“Sport, and football in particular, is the events sector where ticketing is the most complex to manage: numbered seats, annual or half-season subscriptions, security, there are many parameters to take into account,” he said.

“It seemed to me to be a challenge that was both captivating and within my reach. That’s how the idea of ​​Ticketchainer was born.”

In addition, Ticketchainer decided to branch out internationally becoming the ticketing platform for the 2023 African Cup of Nations, which was a massive achievement for the tech company.

“It was a huge satisfaction for the team because we won this competition ahead of all the big names in the sector, which is a strong signal for the future,” Bouden added via the article with ENSTA Paris.

During the build-up, Ticketchainer launched their online ticketing platform that covered the six stadiums used for the tournament which had a capacity ranging from 25,000 to 60,000 seats.

In addition, they also deployed 70 box offices across the Ivory Coast to sell physical tickets utilising their technology for digital payments.

In approximately three months, Ticketchainer sold over a million tickets for the 2023 African Cup of Nations. They also had to manage more than 350,000 connections per day, selling 25,000 tickets daily for several weeks.

However, the French tech company did come across some technical challenges along the way.

“Security was of course a crucial aspect, but we had anticipated the issue very well and all attempts at fraud were foiled. We worked enormously to adapt our technology to the scale of the event and make it safe and robust. And it worked perfectly,” Bouden said in an article with ENSTA Paris.

Although still relatively new in the sports ticketing industry already working with various sporting organisations in France, Ticketchainer is looking to continue to expand in Europe after the success of the African Cup of Nations.

“Our main objective remains to consolidate our expansion on the French and European market and to become the reference solution for the most prestigious competitions,” Bouden said in an article with ENSTA Paris.

“At the same time, the success of our performance at the African Cup of Nations naturally allows us to nurture ambitions on new markets, particularly in the Gulf countries, and emerging markets where the event industry is exploding. We have just proven that we have all the assets to achieve this.”

Ticketchainer could prove beneficial to most sports clubs and organisations to help them get a better grasp on handling and organising ticket purchases.

Although it may be a while to see this type of technology implemented in Australia, if Ticketchainer’s success in the sports ticketing scene continues we may see them expand into other continents as well as other big future sporting competitions.

Manchester City and Sony launch the ‘Virtual Etihad Stadium’

Manchester City has unveiled the ‘Virtual Etihad Stadium’ – an interactive fan experience powered by Sony for fans to enjoy.

The interactive experience makes City the first sports brand to use Sony’s new FavoriteSpace service. The two global giants have been developing this fan engagement proof of concept (PoC) since their collaboration was confirmed in November 2021.

For the first time, fans can access the newly launched app, which lets Cityzens from the UK, US, and Japan join a virtual fan community to connect and celebrate the club throughout the season. Users can create personalized avatars and engage in various activities like daily challenges, social events, minigames, and co-creation features. Digital merchandise can also be redeemed within a virtual City Store.

Using data tracking technology from Hawk-Eye Innovations, a Sony group company, fans can immerse themselves in 3DCG match highlights for City’s home games during the 24/25 men’s season and revisit key moments from the 23/24 season.

With the FavoriteSpace service, the club is offering new opportunities for partners like Etihad and Nissan to create innovative and engaging activations within the Manchester City experience. This includes reactive LED messaging in the Immersive Highlights for Premier League matches and tailored challenges within the interactive Stadium Tour.

Chief Marketing and Fan Experience Officer at City Football Group, Nuria Tarre expressed her excitement about the collaboration.

“We’re delighted to launch this new experience today alongside our long-term partner Sony as part of our wider strategy to embrace new technologies and continuously explore new ways to engage and entertain our audience.

“It’s exciting for us to be able to see the PoC partnership come to life with today’s launch and we’re grateful to Sony for collaborating with us to launch the Man City Virtual Etihad Stadium.

“This is the latest digital experience we have launched for our global fanbase – following success on other platforms such as Roblox and Fortnite in recent years – and we hope fans across the world will enjoy it.”

Head of New Business Development Division and Sony Group Corporation, Yuhei Yabe further elaborated how they will continue to make sports more engaging and innovative.

“We are pleased to bring this new sports experience to football fans by combining Sony’s new service, FavoriteSpace, with the attractive content provided by Manchester City.”

“Sony is committed to making the future of sports more engaging and innovative by utilising Sony’s technology and entertainment expertise. It’s been an incredible journey from the PoC phase with our partner Manchester City, and today, we are thrilled to announce the launch.

“At FavoriteSpace, we will continue to develop services that bring fans closer together, making the act of supporting their favourite teams and players even more enjoyable.”

To find out more about the Man City Virtual Etihad Stadium, click here.

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