Why Manchester City were named the most innovative sports team in the world

Avatar

According to a report by Sports Innovation Lab, Manchester City have been named the most innovative sports team in the world.

The research and market intelligence firm assessed worldwide sporting clubs across three different categories: technology alignment, organisational agility and revenue diversification.

Over 8,000 data sources were analysed by the firm over multiple years, as well as more than 150,000 market signals to eventually determine the final rankings.

“Our team of analysts masterfully identified patterns of success among the world’s most nimble and well-prepared sports organisations,” said Josh Walker, Sports Innovation Lab co-founder and president.

“Our ongoing daily research and guidance will help the industry in charting the journey ahead.”

Manchester City were listed above an array of sporting sides, due to various factors.

The report stated “Manchester City has had their challenges recently, but that hasn’t stopped them from taking full advantage of their global brand awareness to diversify revenue opportunities, launch their own OTT service, and expand their products and services.

“City has consistently delivered unique experiences that other teams with fewer resources and smaller audiences would be wise to emulate.”

As an example, the English club recently launched a Facebook campaign that promoted a freestyle football competition to a global audience.

City have also worked with the social media giant and its supporters to generate long-form and short-form content that extended fan participation well beyond game-day, creating a variety of non-rights protected media.

Activations like that and the partnerships they have built with companies like Nissan, take advantage of City’s larger amount of assets they have through the City Football Group (CFG).

Sports Innovation Lab scored City the highest in technology breadth, meaning it is willing to use different services and products well before other sporting sides.

For example, City were the first team to launch a channel on Youtube Kids, a platform for children aged 12 and under, whilst also developing a partnership with Capstone Games to offer fans a digital experience where they act as a football manager and make critical in-game decisions.

The club does continue to be highly praised for its varying revenue sources as well, across its operations.

“In addition to all the brand and tech alignment City uses on social platforms, it gets similarly high marks for its revenue diversification and development of the Etihad campus — a multi-use district around the stadium that gives Manchester a hub of various media and entertainment experiences. As it continues to collect first-party data from its fans globally, it will be in a prime position to deliver Fluid Fans (technologically savvy supporters) a personalised experience,” the report said.

Other notable recent activity includes the Premier League side’s deal with Onefootball to distribute global editorial content on the German based company’s app, and their exclusive content deal with Douyin, a Chinese service owned by ByteDance (the company who owns TikTok). Mumbai City’s new deal with Puma, who outfits Man City, also highlighted the power of a centralised ownership group like CFG.

Sports Innovation Lab doesn’t forecast City will dip from the top of their bracket anytime soon.

“We expect City will be hard to unseat at the top of the rankings. They have a strong tech focus that should keep them ahead of the pack,” the report concluded.

The full Sports Innovation Lab list of the 25 most innovative sporting teams are shown below.

Full list:

  1. Manchester City (Premier League)
  2. Real Madrid (La Liga)
  3. Arsenal (Premier League)
  4. Barcelona (La Liga)
  5. Bayern Munich (Bundesliga)
  6. Manchester United (Premier League)
  7. Golden State Warriors (NBA)
  8. Paris Saint-Germain (Ligue 1)
  9. Juventus (Serie A)
  10. Sacramento Kings (NBA)
  11. Liverpool (Premier League)
  12. Philadelphia 76ers (NBA)
  13. New England Patriots (NFL)
  14. Green Bay Packers (NFL)
  15. AS Roma (Serie A)
  16. Borussia Dortmund (Bundesliga)
  17. Tottenham Hotspur (Premier League)
  18. Toronto Raptors (NBA)
  19. Seattle Seahawks (NFL)
  20. Chicago Cubs (MLB)
  21. Los Angeles Clippers (NBA)
  22. San Francisco 49ers (NFL)
  23. Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA)
  24. Atlético Madrid (La Liga)
  25. Schalke 04 (Bundesliga)

 

 

 

 

Avatar
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.

St. Louis City SC and Cisco digital technology making an impact

Avatar
CityPark
Image credit: Cisco

Major League Soccer (MLS) side St. Louis City SC is collaborating with Cisco, a worldwide leader in network connection and cybersecurity, bringing one of MLS’ most connected and fan-centric venues.

Cisco is the club’s Proud Technology Partner, utilising its solutions in networking, security, Wi-Fi, and digital signage to assist spectators have one of the most immersive match day experiences in sports.

Cisco is deploying a cutting-edge, completely integrated network throughout CITYPARK’s 31-acre stadium area, which includes the club’s stadium, training centre, team offices, and two-story team shop.

CITYPARK uses Wi-Fi 6, Cisco’s next generation wireless standard, to provide faster speeds for immersive experiences, greater bandwidth, and improved dependability while putting less strain on a device’s battery. CITYPARK is one of just a few MLS stadiums that use Cisco’s Wi-Fi 6 technology.

Matt Sebek, St. Louis CITY SC’s Chief Experience Officer, commented on what the technology will allow the club to achieve.

“As a next-generation venue with frictionless markets and mobile-first technologies at the forefront of CITYPARK’s engagement, an innovative fan experience is reliant on a robust and secure connectivity,” he stated via video.

“Every piece of data flows through Cisco’s converged technology, allowing us to streamline IT operations and provide heightened experiences through elevated video distribution, point-of-sale devices, digital signage, real-time app engagement and so much more.”

Cisco’s IPTV technology, a dynamic, end-to-end signage solution that combines high-definition video delivery with state-of-the art digital signage, will be implemented at CITYPARK. The 4K deployment will power screens across the stadium district, all entirely customizable and centrally managed via one point of control.

CITY SC and Cisco will work as part of the relationship to engage the local community and give meaningful, hands-on experiences to experience the power of technology first-hand.

A-Leagues and PFA strengthen commitment to stamping out social media abuse

Staff Writer
A-Leagues. PFA and GoBubble
Image provided by A-Leagues

The A-Leagues and Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) are continuing their collaboration with GoBubble Community to stop social media abuse towards Australia and New Zealand’s professional men’s and women’s footballers, through to at least 2027.

First established in April 2022, the use of GoBubble’s artificial intelligence is key to identifying and blocking abusive, derogatory, harmful or offensive content.

GoBubble has implemented an automated solution that picks up sentiment and is tailored to the needs of all organisations in real-time, for example if an ongoing issue presents itself.

The GoBubble partnership is one of the first in its kind when monitoring an entire sporting league. Since the A-League’s adoption, the English Premier League and German Bundesliga and other sports rights holders globally now use technology successfully.

Since April 2022, GoBubble’s technology has protected A-Leagues players and clubs’ social media accounts, with more than 13,000 abusive comments blocked.

The A-Leagues, PFA and GoBubble (through the new GoBubble Foundation launching in 2024) will be running community outreach projects to provide access to the cutting-edge technology for those who play the role in protecting young people in their digital lives.

A-Leagues Commissioner Nick Garcia reiterated that abuse in any form is not accepted:

”Our footballers and clubs provide great entertainment to their many fans across Australia and New Zealand, both on the field as well as through social media content.

“Just like we work to ensure our stadiums are safe for our players and fans, we are also, through GoBubble Community, focused on making social media a safe space for them.

“Online abuse is absolutely not acceptable in football or any walk of life, so we are thrilled to extend our vital partnership with GoBubble Community.”

PFA Co-Chief Executive Beau Busch praised the efforts of GoBubble so far:

“Our collective ambition is to make the A-Leagues the safest competition in world football for players and fans, and that extends to ensuring everyone’s experience online is the best it can possibly be.

“GoBubble has proven to be the most effective way for our players to add a layer of protection online, so that they can continue to engage with fans and grow our football community.”

GoBubble Founder Henry Platten commended the A-Leagues and PFA approach to abuse:

“The A-Leagues’ innovative approach in providing our sentiment artificial intelligence (AI) for all member clubs has positively impacted the digital lives of millions.

“Football is the beautiful game, and by working in partnership with the A-Leagues and PFA, our patent-pending technology is helping everyone enjoy it without the risk of suffering hate or abuse online.

“We care about respectful communication at scale and are proud, together with the A-Leagues and PFA, to deliver another world first in 2024 by providing access to our AI through the GoBubble Foundation to education and charitable organisations working with schools in Australia.”

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant shared the importance of sustaining this technology:

“It’s great to see this successful partnership being extended to ensure players and fans alike can continue to enjoy the sport they love without being subjected to harmful content.

“Online abuse is an insidious problem that affects all sporting codes from elite to community level, so it’s important that initiatives like this continue to receive support.

“While we might be disappointed with a particular call or play, that doesn’t mean it’s acceptable to unleash a torrent of online abuse. Smart use of safety technologies is an important tool in every football club’s arsenal.

“eSafety has developed specialist resources with sporting organisations and integrity units to help deal with the issue. You can find these resources and report abuse at eSafety.gov.au/sport.”

The research so far:

The issue of abusive behaviour on social media was examined closely by the Australian eSafety Commissioner in their Online Hate Speech report which indicated “around 1 In 7 (14%) adults aged 18–65 are estimated to have been the target of online hate speech.”

The Report also reflected on the negative impact of hateful social media content, finding that “58% (of people experiencing hate speech) report a negative impact from their experience, typically mental or emotional stress, relationship problems or reputational damage.”

Separately, the recent FIFA World Cup 2022 held in Qatar was also examined through the FIFA/FIFPRO Social Media Protection Service Report: Qatar 2022 Analysis. It reported that “targeted individual racism was high volume with more than 300 players being targeted.”

The report indicated 286,895 abusive, discriminatory and threatening comments were detected targeting World Cup participant accounts with sexism, homophobia and racism among the most detected abusive messages.

As proud signatories of eSafety’s Commitment to Online Safety in Sport, A-Leagues and PFA see this extended partnership as a further step in helping to keep all Australians safe online, and a key prevention strategy for athletes and staff who are targets of online abuse.

Find out more about GoBubble Community on their website – gobubblehq.com.

Most Popular Topics

Editor Picks

Send this to a friend