SwipeStation: Food and drink service made easy

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Image provided by SwipeStation

SwipeStation is leading the way when it comes to technology in the sports and entertainment business. Known as a contact-free mobile payment service, it is proven to be a game-changer in beating the queues for food and drink at large venues.

The service eliminates queues by increasing the flow of traffic through its ‘click and collect’ ordering system. Its user friendly menu which is accessed via scanning a QR code, gives customers full control of what they want to order and when they want it.

SwipeStation’s contact-free mobile payments enable bar staff to serve in 15 seconds with no training – and fans can use the service without any phone connectivity. You will need to download the SwipeStation app from either the Apple or Play store to get started, but once downloaded the app works without an internet connection. From either the Apple or Play stores, you can then order your food and beverages through the apps’ menu and pay for them once your ticket is printed via the physical SwipeStation screen (located near the food/bar area). Once scanned, the order is sent to the kitchen and the machine prints you an order receipt. Fans then get to skip the queue by accessing the dedicated fast lanes for SwipeStation customers.

The technology is convenient and powerful considering its size. It only takes 17 megabytes of data to download to your mobile device. Even more handy is the ability to use the same QR code if you’re wanting to order the same items again. Most fans have been to a big match with their friends and tried to remember several different drinks orders, only to get to the bar and forget. The QR code can be saved for future events at the stadium so you never have to worry about forgetting that drinks order again. All orders placed through the SwipeStation app are provided with email receipts to easily keep track of what you are purchasing.

The SwipeStation technology is not only helping with the fans’ experience, it’s helping shape businesses inside the stadiums. With their motto ‘ half the drinks in half the time’, SwipeStation is on a mission to increase sales and improve staff efficiency for stadium caterers. A recent study by computer software company Oracle concluded that if food and beverage queues at UK stadiums were cut in half, you could see a 45 percent increase in revenues. SwipeStation says it has solved the problem of transient staff slowing down the process of ordering inside events where there are large mass gatherings.

They have proven that they can reduce the service time down to 15 seconds by cutting out customers having to place their order in person. Customers only present to the food and beverage staff once the order has been placed and paid for, therefore only presenting to the counter to pick up their items. SwipeStation believes that their technology is set up in a way that even untrained or unmotivated staff can rely on the technology to help them through their shifts. SwipeStation’s presence in stadiums is a move that can fast track efforts towards stadiums operating completely cashless worldwide. Perhaps SwipeStation’s strongest argument for having their technology in all stadiums is the fact that their technology does not require an internet connection. Currently, the costs of having internet in stadiums is a price only the wealthy businesses can afford. SwipeStation eliminates that problem from a catering perspective.

SwipeStation at Portsmouth FC

The SwipeStation technology has several benefits to clubs and large venues looking to increase revenue sales, whilst also controlling the flow of fans inside stadiums. With the Covid-19 pandemic taking its toll on sporting leagues across the world, SwipeStation machines at stadiums can be an effective measure in preventing fans congregating in large queues. Fans using mobile technologies should not come as a surprise – during the pandemic, citizens were asked to use mobile technologies and apps more often to help minimise the spread of Covid-19. Coming out of the pandemic, many businesses in the hospitality sector offered menus and ordering from QR codes attached to tables, limiting the movement across venues. In a recent survey conducted by SwipeStation, patrons attending a UK stadium revealed that 84 percent have used their smartphones to order drinks from a pub in the past 12 months, of which 28 percent have for the very first time.

With the bottom line being increased revenue, lower staffing costs, and an improved fan experience, it’s just a matter of time before we see SwipeStation technology installed across UK stadiums and abroad.

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The Spreadsheet Is Dead: Majestri’s Fix for How Clubs Actually Assess Players

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If you’ve ever sat through a club’s end-of-season review, you’ll know the drill. A coach pulls out a folder of notes, someone half-remembers what a player was like back in Round 3 and a parent quietly wonders what they actually got for their rego fees beyond a team photo. Football club platform Majestri says it has a fix for that, and it’s built directly into its Player Assessment module.

Why clubs bother assessing players in the first place

According to Majestri, clubs run player assessments for one of three reasons – usually more than one at once. Some are chasing genuine development, using the data to lift the level across their high-performance squads. Others are after a fairer way to pick teams, putting every player on the same measurable scale so selection is based on evidence rather than a coach’s gut feel about who “looks the part.” And for clubs operating under a Football Australia or state federation licence, assessments at set intervals often aren’t optional – they’re a compliance requirement, with the paperwork to prove it when asked.

Whatever the motivation, Majestri’s pitch is the same: don’t let that assessment data die in a spreadsheet on someone’s laptop.

Build your own assessment, your way

There’s no one-size-fits-all template here. The Assessment Designer lets technical directors set their own criteria, sort them into whatever categories their coaching staff already use – think core skills, possession, defending, attacking – and decide what each point on the rating scale actually means. Crucially, every criterion also gets a comment field, because a bare number rarely tells the full story of a player’s development.

The Assessment Module Builder for an NPL Juniors assessment
The Assessment Module Builder, showing an NPL Juniors assessment with a 1-10 rating scale banded from under performing through to excelling and role-specific criteria grouped into core skills, possession, defending and attacking. Source: Majestri.

Build it once and it’s reusable every time that assessment cycle comes around, so every player and every coach – is working off the same yardstick.

Something for the parents to actually take home

One of the more relatable pain points Majestri is targeting: most families never see much tangible return from a season of fees beyond a team photo. Player Assessment addresses that with report cards – colour-coded against the same scale coaches used, grouped by category with averages calculated automatically, and delivered as a PDF or an interactive web page a parent can read without needing a coaching badge themselves.

A player report card for an under-15 player
A report card for an under-15 player, colour-coded from under performing to excelling, with a score for every criterion and a group average across core skills, possession, defending and attacking. Source: Majestri.

 

Turning the numbers into something useful

The real value, though, sits in what Majestri calls the Player Analysis Lab. This is where clubs can plot a player against their team-mates or an entire age group across two categories at once, spotting clusters and outliers at a glance. Every score gets read against the group average – so a “7” actually means something in context – and clubs can report at the broad category level or drill into individual fields underneath. The results can be filtered down and exported for selection meetings or grading purposes.

The Player Analysis Lab comparing players in an under-15 and under-16 squad
The Player Analysis Lab comparing seven players across under-15 and under-16 squads, with a scatter plot, a sortable table of scores against the player average, and controls for choosing which categories and fields to report on. Source: Majestri.

The admin side nobody enjoys, made easier

Beyond the flashy analytics, there’s a practical layer built for the volunteers actually running the process:

  • Sweep monitoring – a quick view of which assessments are done and which are still outstanding, organised into defined assessment periods so progress can be tracked against peers.
  • Individual development plans – every player gets a personalised plan, and clubs can group common improvement areas to run cross-team training sessions that lift the whole club rather than just one squad.
  • Access control – coaches and technical staff can only see assessments for the teams they’re responsible for, and completed assessments are only visible to people linked to that player’s registration.
“Hard numbers to draw on when you review coaching staff and curriculum – and something tangible for the players and parents who pay the fees.” – Majestri

 

The bigger picture

Majestri frames all of this as sitting on top of the club’s own data – assessment results live on each player’s profile inside the platform rather than in a spreadsheet that walks out the door when a technical director moves on. For committees, it also means hard numbers to lean on when reviewing coaching staff or curriculum, rather than relying on anecdote.

It’s a fairly clear read on where club administration software is heading: less about digitising paperwork for its own sake, and more about making the data clubs already collect actually work for player development, team selection and compliance  without adding to the workload of the volunteers who run the show.

For more information on Majestri’s Player Assessment module, visit majestri.com.au/player-assessment.

AI-powered camera system makes Supercup debut in live football production

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Image Credit: 2670469575

AI-powered camera technology has moved another step closer to mainstream sports broadcasting. This comes after it was deployed for the international tactical feed of the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.

The system, supplied by Broadcast Solutions, combined Studio Automated’s AI camera automation platform with an Egripment HotHead 3 remote head during the fixture at Signal Iduna Park on 22 August. The Bundesliga and host broadcaster Sportcast have regularly used the season-opening match as a testing ground for new technologies.

Rather than simply tracking the ball or individual players, Studio Automated’s technology analyses the wider match scene and uses broadcast production principles to determine framing and camera movements.

The system was used to operate a camera positioned on the stadium’s main camera gantry. As a result, the footage was available as part of the international tactical production.

The deployment is significant because it demonstrates how AI camera operation can move from trade-show demonstrations into live professional broadcast environments. The companies first showcased the integrated technology at SportsInnovation earlier this year.

The system operates on standard on-premises hardware and does not require cloud connectivity or a calibration process. Its low-latency operation also allows the remote head to respond in a way designed to replicate the movement of a conventional manually operated camera.

Importantly, the technology does not replace the wider production team. The automated camera operates as another source within a multi-camera environment. In this setup, the production team retains control over which images make it to air. This positions AI as a tool for expanding production capabilities rather than removing the role of existing broadcast teams.

For broadcasters and production companies, the potential extends beyond major Bundesliga fixtures. Automated camera positions could help reduce the operational requirements associated with remote and lower-cost productions. At the same time, they can maintain a higher standard of coverage.

Broadcast Solutions will continue showcasing the technology with Studio Automated and Egripment at IBC 2026 in Amsterdam. At this event, the companies will demonstrate integrated workflows for sports production.

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