How La Liga is successfully approaching digital transformation

Digital transformation is a key part of the future of football.

Spain’s La Liga competition continues to be at the forefront in this area, with administrators guiding clubs to embrace new digital tools to communicate with fans, streamline services and acquire new data.

La Liga recently shared its technological expertise with Spain’s Chamber of Commerce, to produce a paper for the country’s small to medium-sized businesses.

In the paper, businesses are provided with an explanation of the underlying principles of digital transformation and are encouraged to adopt various technologies in their operations.

The resource will also be further useful for La Liga clubs themselves, to expand on the growing culture of digital transformation in their processes.

Since 2013, La Liga has identified technology as a pillar of future growth, assisting clubs with various digital transformation projects.

The ultimate aim for the organisation is to ensure all 42 clubs (in the first and second tier) move towards the same direction.

Minerva Santana, La Liga’s director of innovation, strategy and technological transformation, explained in the La Liga Newsletter: “The first step is to generate awareness at all levels, but especially at the level of leaders and decision makers, the relevance of digital transformation as a lever for competitiveness and value generation.

“From there, it’s useful to have a self-evaluation process to work out which point in the digital transformation process a business is at,” she added.

“This creates a baseline from which you can establish objectives and a strategy. Once the objectives and priorities are established, it’s important to build a plan and to seek support internally and from external partners.”

Recent examples that have been successful and referential in world sport include, RCD Mallorca adopting technology that is wearable and remotely monitors player’s workouts; Osasuna introducing intelligent shinpads into their club academies; Real Sociedad developing smart scarves and shirts, using wearable NFC tags; Celta de Vigo installing remote video technology at their training complex and Valencia CF creating a seat delivery service which allows fans to order food and drink from their seats at the stadium.

In Spain’s second tier, La Liga Smartbank, clubs are increasingly ambitious when it comes to technological growth. Clubs in that division have grown their online presence by 23 percent since July of last year, which is a growth rate far higher than any other second tier in Europe’s top leagues.

UD Almeria, CF Fuenlabrada and Cádiz CF have recorded growth of over 85 percent, year-on-year.

“This shows that an increased focus on digital helps clubs to reach a wider fanbase,” Santana added.

“In the last year, La Liga clubs have recorded some of the highest growth rates in Europe when it comes to digital adoption, particularly within digital communications.

“Our focus is to continue building on what has been achieved and to continue working with clubs of all sizes to embrace new digital tools that will help evolve their business and support the growth of the entire competition.”

La Liga has formed alliances with technology giants such as Microsoft, building dedicated teams of technology experts in innovation, as well as data analytics.

These teams have continued to stimulate growth opportunities for clubs, through the sharing of resources and expertise.

“At La Liga, we’ve created a portfolio of digital services and integration programmes that allow us to respond to the concrete needs of each club,” Santana claimed.

“We’ve built an ecosystem in the areas of innovation, digital and data that we’ve made available to clubs to help them with their business objectives.”

Examples of this include platforms that are shared with clubs to help them build apps and websites, the use of the Sandbox tool for analysis of match data in the cloud and much more.

“The new technologies that come from digital transformation provide the flexibility to adapt to constantly evolving behaviours and consumption habits, so the appearance of new products and services, as well as the appearance of new models, will be more frequent,” she said.

“This will make the competitive environment more complex but richer.

“At La Liga we have always conveyed the importance of digital transformation to clubs and its impact on competitiveness. The success we are seeing is creating a drive for new innovation across the competition and this is something we will continue to support,” Santana concluded.

For more information on the local scene, read our piece on why digital transformation is vital for Australian football here.

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Philip Panas is a sports journalist with Soccerscene. He reports widely on football policy and industry matters, drawing on his knowledge and passion of the game.

Premier League Productions combine with Genius Sports to bring Premier League Data Zone

Premier League Data Zone

Genius Sports Limited, Football DataCo’s Official Tracking Provider, has announced a new relationship with Premier League Productions (PLP) to improve live broadcasts for fans in over 185 countries across the world through rich tracking data insights and data-driven augmentations.

PLP creates and distributes all of the Premier League’s overseas content, including the telecast of all 380 league matches each season. PLP broadcasts now include a live ‘Premier League Data Zone’ viewing option, bringing fans closer to the action with rich data and tracking metrics in a highlighted match every match round as part of a cooperation between PLP, the Premier League, Football DataCo, and Genius Sports.

Everything from player names to passing accuracy, shooting velocity, sprints, total distance travelled, touches in the final third, and field maps is integrated into live broadcasts via a distinctive L-bar, answering the ever-increasing demand for data-driven insights among Premier League fans worldwide.

To enhance the fan entertainment experience, Data Zone will also include official Fantasy Premier League updates and standings.

Genius Sports CEO Mark Locke spoke on the deal and what it meant for both parties.

“Through Premier League Productions and their international broadcast partners, Genius Sports is revolutionising the viewing experience for millions of Premier League fans around the world,” he stated via press release.

“Powered by our Second Spectrum AI technology, we deliver an enriched visual experience with advanced analytics and key performance metrics in the live broadcast.”

Genius Sports is also FDC’s authorised supplier of official live data to the worldwide sports betting business, offering the most up-to-date and accurate feed on all Premier League, English Football League, and Scottish Professional Football League games.

Genius Sports’ Second Spectrum technology provides enhanced, data-driven Premier League, NFL, and NBA broadcasts on CBS, ESPN, NBA League Pass, and TSN.

U.S. Soccer and Ticketmaster to streamline the match day experience

U.S. Soccer and Ticketmaster

U.S. Soccer have recently announced a strategic partnership with Ticketmaster to become the Federation’s official ticketing partner for the next several years.

The partnership is set to use Ticketmaster’s industry-leading technology to support all ticketing initiatives and solutions with a goal to enhance the match day experience for fans at the stadium.

Ticketmaster is one of the world’s largest ticket sales and distribution companies. They have serviced millions of events across many different countries they operate in, providing a quick and reliable online service for fans that is focused mainly on convenience.

There is an unprecedented line-up of soccer events coming to the United States over the next few years and the Federation is being proactive in its approach to ensure a reliable ticketing service.

The features being brought in will be a fresh change for fans who have previously struggled acquiring tickets to matches because of the multitude of unreliable services that were selling them outside of the U.S. Soccer website.

Ticketmaster plan to incorporate features such as mobile app integrations, use of a 3D Interactive Seat Map to enhance seat selection, and the ability to save tickets to mobile devices which eases access at the gates.

U.S. Soccer and Ticketmaster will also recognise fans through custom content that will highlight the undying commitment of fans and their journeys to U.S. Soccer-controlled events, including U.S. Women’s and Men’s National Team matches, and create unforgettable moments through engaging sweepstakes.

U.S. Soccer Chief Commercial Officer David Wright expressed his excitement for what the partnership was going to bring to U.S. Soccer

“Fans are the heartbeat of our business. Supporting our commitment to super-serve our passionate fans, we are excited to partner with Ticketmaster in our efforts to enhance the customer experience,” he said in a U.S. Soccer press release

“Ticketmaster has been at the forefront of technology and innovation in this space for years and is the perfect match as we continue to elevate and evolve as a property.”

Ticketmaster Executive Vice President & Co-Head of Sports Clay Luter explained how the partnership was going to improve fan engagement.

“The expansion of our partnership with U.S. Soccer is a testament to our commitment to celebrating passionate soccer fans,” he added via press release.

“As the game’s popularity continues to rise, we’re eager to take engagement and connectivity to the next level while actively discovering and connecting with new fans. Through our platform, we’ll deliver must-have ticketing solutions, unique content and innovations that further fuel the interest in soccer across the country.”

The focus on fan engagement through augmented reality and app activations is a fantastic touch from the U.S. Soccer Federation, doing something that Australia has yet to attempt.

The country would definitely benefit by following the U.S. in their fan-first mentality, with an overall goal of making the matchday experience memorable and addictive, especially off the back of the Matildas World Cup success story.

This partnership is attempting to put the building blocks in to ensure crowd numbers are healthy as this new generation of soccer fans start to emerge. It is very strategic and has a forward outlook that must be applauded.

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