Sport is the sum of all efforts made to safeguard an individual’s mental and physical well-being, maximize the sensations of excitement, competition, and victory, and optimize personal accomplishment within a set of regulations. The sport consists of physical, mental, and spiritual practices that satisfy one’s underlying feelings, such as winning while adhering to specific standards and being centered on competition. The relevance of sports has grown at the same pace as sports’ economic, social, political, and psychological components continue to occupy more human experience. Rapid technological evolution is one of the most significant characteristics of the modern world. These fast developments inevitably affect the structure and living circumstances of society. As a result of its expansion in the twenty-first century, technology is crucial for rapidly disseminating advances and inventions throughout the globe via the media. Therefore, for any contemporary sport to remain relevant, it must be entertaining.
Sports technological innovation occurs for various reasons, often in combination with other market developments. Some technological advances serve as platforms for a wide range of uses. Therefore, in order to be competent in the global market, it is essential to obtain the necessary technologies. According to Laurell and Sandstrom (2018), the quality of the innovation will vary based on its structure and the economic advantage connected with its use. Thus, this implies that organizations must often expand their competencies to account for more innovation and creativity emerging from technological advancement.
Sport is impacted by technological progress mostly on a cultural and social level. The kinds and styles of sports practiced in society have changed due to cultural shifts. The activity was formerly seen from a more conventional perspective, but as people have come to embrace many types of sport, this has evolved. Sport-related cultural attitudes are more pronounced in choices about attire and way of life. More individuals may watch and partake in these activities because of technology like television and internet streaming of live sporting events. Innovative garment technology has been acknowledged for usage in sports such as football. Additionally, soccer shoes are worn by people who do not play soccer.
The rising prevalence and use of advanced technologies in football revolutionize the approach to football practice. Heart rate devices and the global positioning system (GPS) trackers on vests, sophisticated monitoring video systems, and workouts with drones provide information, like a player’s muscular performance, throughout the season (Richard, 2021). Once gathered and analyzed, all of this input leads to enhanced performance. For example, Adidas and EA is a smart shoe insole and application system that automatically monitors data on sprinting distance, dribbling, pass distribution, and various sorts of kicks, including regular and penalty kicking (Richard, 2021). The German men’s football team wears sophisticated Adidas jerseys that measure distance, pace, and heart rate to optimize training regimens and devise game plans. In addition, coaches may utilize this data to identify anomalies or trends suggesting a shift in player efficiency, which might signal an impending injury.
In the world of professional football, teams make extensive use of databases that save data and video recordings of players from all around the world. This not only assists them in creating optimized coaching for their players but also offers them an overview of the competition and affects their decision-making when recruiting new players. The knowledge included in these systems can be analyzed and handled by researchers and sports experts, but this work can also be performed by artificial intelligence, which can do this task considerably more effectively (Richard, 2021). The team has used the technology to determine the most effective playing styles, formations, and areas of weakness. Additionally, the team has improved its interactions with the players due to having concrete proof to back up findings about how the players can enhance their game.
In the contemporary game, when the rewards are sky-high and worldwide reputations are at risk, the advent of goal-line technology (GLT) has been an extremely significant and crucial development. GLT evaluates whether the ball has passed the goal line or not. Hence, this information is relayed to an exceptional watch used by the referee, providing a fast reaction and avoiding stoppages and other disruptions. GLT was formally recognized by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) in 2012 and utilized in the top European regional leagues and key international tournaments (Richard, 2021). The CAIROS GLT innovative ball approach, comprised of a football fitted with electromagnetic strips and sensors behind the goal posts, is a system that can reliably assess whether a ball has passed the goal line (Richard, 2021). This device measures the magnetic field to track the ball with extraordinary precision. The information is then transferred to a computer system to assess whether or not the ball crossed the line. Consequently, the match referee is then alerted by the smartwatch.
It is not enjoyable for football players to participate in an empty stadium. Yamaha overcame this difficulty to reproduce the atmosphere of a typical game; the musical instrument manufacturer created the ‘Remote Cheerer supported by SoundUD’ software, which is linked to 58 speakers across the stadium (Richard, 2021). The method was first designed for those unable to attend stadium football games, including hospitalized children and elderly fans. During a test match between Jubilo Iwata J-League and Shimizu, for instance, supporters in faraway regions were able to utilize their cellphones to transmit club shouts, jeers, and applause into the arena (Richard, 2021). Fans may also broadcast their voice to particular sections of the stadium to cheer on footballers who scored goals, making it seem like they were in the stands just behind the goal.
Sportswear is a fundamental component of technical fabrics and has enormous technological and creative possibilities. Compared to the ready-to-wear category, the innovation of sports textiles has occurred at a tremendously accelerated rate. Sportswear is no longer limited to athletes participating in competitive sports or intense physical activities. Nonetheless, there has been an increase in the demand for sportswear and fittings among health-conscious and gym-goers. Consequently, the sportswear business has undergone significant breakthroughs in creating several sportswear categories, such as activewear and leisurewear, to meet the needs of both athletes and health-conscious millennials (Jhanji, 2021). The essential and practical demands of comfort, breathability, and anti-odor may be included in sportswear by selecting the suitable fibers, fabrics, and garment design features.
Understanding the use of technological advancement in sports innovation requires consideration of social aspects. This is because technological advances have altered how people incorporate sport into their existence. The technology utilized to produce athletic apparel has progressed with the introduction of new textiles like Lycra and sweat-resistant fabric. Additionally, customers are increasingly concerned about athletic apparel’s sustainability and environmental aspects. Due to lifestyle variables such as comfort, more individuals use athletic apparel for non-sporting activities. This has generated a market for sports like yoga, leading to creative clothing development. Other sports firms, such as Under Armour, are renowned for adding sweat-wicking material to collegiate sports T-shirts. Consequently, there are shifting societal perspectives on the importance of sport in people’s lifestyles.
New kinds of conduct have been introduced due to sports’ social innovations, which have altered the sport’s pre-existing practices, as evidenced by the rising use of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. In addition to conventional marketing channels, athletes and teams have social media profiles. Hence, this has resulted in a more direct connection with players and spectators, necessitating more frequent involvement. In addition, the design of sports institutions has evolved as healthy lives have been more associated with the function of sport in society.
Historically, sports events have required a great deal of energy, but technological advancements have made it possible to reduce energy usage. The infrastructure of sporting events, such as heating and lighting, has been modified to make greater use of solar energy and other natural sources. Through context-specific efforts, social entrepreneurs and groups have targeted the sports business (Ricky, 2021). Thus, this has been made possible by technical advancements in online social networking that connect groups of interest with the sport. Grassroots efforts at local athletic clubs that use social media to generate money for new technological innovations illustrate this.
Data analysis is an integral component of the baseball experience. Currently, data analysis in sporting events goes well beyond traditional sabermetrics and game efficiency. The usage of analytics software tools has progressed to the point that it is now utilized to electronically view footage of teams on the field throughout many games. On-field tracking and camera systems implanted in helmets, shoes, and other equipment monitor athletes and their real-time statistical data. For example, Major League Baseball established StatCast by installing cameras and radar technology in every team’s stadium for collecting and showing previously unquantifiable game characteristics. It is now simpler to determine the game’s most proficient participants by quantifying what was earlier incalculable. Analytics may address these inquiries, and Statcast performs the necessary work (Kagan & Nathan, 2017). The study assists team management in identifying improvement areas, recognizing excellent players, and adjusting lineups, among other things. Once implemented, employees may utilize the data to generate trend lines and improve their ability to manipulate their success.
In major league baseball, the action of striking a pitch exerts enormous requirements on the batter’s visuomotor function. A typical fastball goes from the pitcher to the hitter in around 400 milliseconds, and the batter needs to predict the moment and position of contact to commence a swing on time (Healey & Zhao, 2017). Baseball’s major leagues use Sportvision’s PITCHf/x, a pitch-tracking technology that collects statistics on baseballs tossed. The technology was designed by Sportvision and was accessible at the beginning of the 2008 season in thirty major baseball league venues (Healey & Zhao, 2017). The PITCHf/x pictures may be used to predict a pitch’s three-dimensional route and calculate its velocity and movement. This technology allows players, coaches, and spectators to observe the details of each pitch and pitcher, as well as what thrives and what does not against certain teams and players.
Sports fans’ online video views and app logins might help teams determine when and what their followers are interested in watching. Using augmented reality, they are making more compelling experiences (Ricky, 2021). Using analytics, they may mine social media streams for sentiment to learn what their followers think and then utilize that knowledge to better interact with them. Using electronic tickets and other biometric data like fingerprint or retina scans, teams can track their fans’ whereabouts inside the stadium due to the information gleaned through their customers’ participation.
Data from consumer involvement continues to the stadiums, where clubs may utilize electronic tickets and possibly biometric or retinal scans to monitor fan activity. This analytics even assists teams in reducing stadium parking lot overcrowding. All of this leads to a new possibility in sports analytics: tracing a fan’s activity outside the stadium. By integrating with other stakeholders, such as telecommunications firms, payment suppliers, and shops, sports clubs might acquire a deeper insight into fan behavior before and after their arrival at the stadium (Ricky, 2021). Not only may this assist in targeting people with important information about games and special deals, but it could also give towns essential crowd management data.
Ultimately, technology has significantly improved sports in recent years, both for players and spectators. Technology is essential for fast communicating global breakthroughs and innovations via the media. Athletes and clubs have social media presence, resulting in a more direct relationship with players and fans. Importantly, technological advancements in sports are altering the social and cultural context. The study of sports innovation may provide valuable information. Predicting and forecasting prospective developments in the sports sector in order to increase fan happiness is the most crucial insight.
References
Healey, G., & Zhao, S. (2017). Using PITCHf/x to model the dependence of strikeout rate on the predictability of pitch sequences.Journal of Sports Analytics, 3(2), 93–101.
Jhanji, Y. (2021). Sportswear: Acumen of raw materials, designing, innovative and sustainable concepts.Textiles for Functional Applications, 261.
Kagan, D., & Nathan, A. M. (2017). Statcast and the baseball trajectory calculator.The Physics Teacher, 55(3), 134-136.
Laurell, C., & Sandström, C. (2018). Comparing coverage of disruptive change in social and traditional media: Evidence from the sharing economy.Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 129, 339-344.
Richard. (2021).The future of football is all about high-tech innovation. Richard van Hooijdonk Blog.
Ricky, A. (2021). Council post: How data analysis in sports is changing the game. Forbes.