English rugby team Leicester Tigers finished bottom of the sport's Premiership in 2019 and came close to missing out on relegation. That's when the club turned to AI to evaluate player performance and model how different actions impact the club's odds of winning.
From then on, there was no turning back. The team topped 13 other teams to win the 2022 premiership thanks to AI tools developed by London-based sports data company Prospect and its subsidiary Oval.
Similar successes in cricket, soccer, and other sports demonstrate the power of AI to transform sports as we know them.
This technology has numerous applications, including helping clubs scout players, analyze performance, and plan tactics against opponents in ways that were previously considered too complex. It will also create new opportunities for fans and teams to interact with each other, catering to the growing interest in the sport.
“AI offers new opportunities for sports facilities to commercialize fan and athlete data, deepening their understanding of customers and stakeholders, and making brands more attractive to investors,” said the Barcelona-based company. said Motassem El Bawab, chief information officer of the consulting firm. N3XT Sports told luck.
What does it mean? AI's impact on fan interest, team performance, and overall competitiveness in sports could drive the value of sports clubs.
The value of sports mergers, acquisitions and investment deals has soared eightfold to about $37 billion in just four years, according to analysts at Deutsche Bank. Sports attract huge amounts of money, as seen by Saudi Arabia paying Cristiano Ronaldo millions of dollars, making him the highest-paid athlete in history. Interestingly, this timing coincides exactly with interest rates skyrocketing in response to high inflation, disrupting dealmaking across other industries.
In a note last week, the bank said AI was one of the reasons sports clubs were winning. This also means that sports teams are responsible for finding the best data tools and using them more efficiently to stay ahead of the competition.
“Critics argue that sports statistics becomes a zero-sum game if every team gets a stat. We believe the opposite,” said fellow analysts Luke Templeman and Galina. Pozdnyakova wrote in a memo last week. “We argue that the proliferation of advanced sports data analytics will level the playing field in leagues dominated by a small number of teams.”
How can AI help you make big bucks?
Many things go into evaluating a sports club. Apart from financial metrics such as profits, the hierarchy of the team, who plays, and their track record are also important.
El-Bawab said there are many opportunities for teams to do what they do better with the AI tools they have at their disposal. He gave an example where better performance and management strategies can directly increase ticket sales and merchandise sales.
“All these factors can significantly enhance a sports club's valuation by demonstrating the potential for higher, more sustainable revenues,” he said.
Given that such predictions are based on, robust data is key. For example, FC Barcelona uses footage from past soccer matches to determine the opponent's behavioral patterns and devise a game plan accordingly. The English women's cricket team works with her Prospect to use AI to simulate mock matches under thousands of scenarios and select the right players for different opponents.
“There are now exciting opportunities for the most ambitious and innovative teams to take advantage of. [computing power and modeling tech] And daring to do things a little differently,” said Jack Tozer, co-founder of Prospect. luck. “Teams that can use AI better than others will definitely benefit.”
Mark Lilly, Partner and Head of UK Sports at Deloitte, said: luck While sports organizations are still preparing to increase their investments in AI and data, this technology will soon play a key role.
“As AI becomes a standard tool for competitive advantage, teams with strong AI capabilities and associated benefits will become more attractive investments and potentially enjoy higher valuations,” Lilly said. He said, warning that even if AI “doesn't solve all problems”. Very powerful.
For those in sports who are skeptical about AI doing the job, Lilly says that “human expertise, intuition, and leadership are still critical to success.”
Seb Daily—Sports File/Getty Images
More impact on sports fans
Regardless of the sport, fans are the lifeblood of any industry. Their interest helps promote the popularity of various clubs and leagues, attracting large numbers of supporters to stadiums, and motivating players.
Although fans have long been a central part of sports, there is still a lack of engagement, Sentient Sports CEO Ryan Beal said. luck.
“There's an ebb and flow in the season where game day comes, and a few days before the game it builds up to the game, and then there's another wave like that after the game,” he said. When interest wanes, teams lose fan engagement, which is a huge monetization opportunity that AI can provide.
This will be in the form of new content based on fan preferences, allowing each person to interact with the team of their choice in a personalized way. AI tools can also help teams like Manchester United engage with their fan base around the world in their native language. Manchester United's revenue hit a record high of £648.4 million (about $805 million) in 2023, but Beale says that figure could almost double if AI were used. Told.
Digital experiences that help grow fan bases could open up entirely new revenue streams for sports clubs that have traditionally relied on ticket sales, sponsorships and television rights to generate revenue.
The transition to using AI is well underway, says Deutsche Bank's Templeman. luck Every sports team is considering how to use AI, and the only difference is how they choose to implement it.
As examples of established teams deferring new technology tools increase, other teams will begin to adopt similar capabilities to keep up.
“There is an opportunity for data to help small teams become big teams… [and] Big teams will start monetizing their fan bases around the world,” Beal said. “So either you’re the disruptor and everyone else catches up. [you find] You have to figure out new inefficiencies to get an edge in the game, and that's what makes the sport so exciting. ”
