Football in the UK is BACK. And so is my 2nd edition of my “around the leagues” innovation playbook breakdowns charting the kick-off to the start of the European soccer season ( yes I’m American now)
As always, I’ve been tracking the innovation stories and themes that I think will matter most and why you should care.
Let’s get into it.
1) Ref Cam scales beyond a proof-of-concept
The Bundasliga were the first to roll out ref cams over 5 years ago. With many other leagues and rights holders following suit including, FIFA at the Club World Cup and Men’s WC this year.
The Premier League first debuted the tech last season to great effect. Creating new unseen angles and immersive organic first-person view content
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TLDR what are they doing this year:
Ref Cam matches jump from around 20 to nearly 45
Broadcasters cleared to air referee-player audio from the camera, one or two incidents per matchround, as near-live replays rather than a continuous feed
Key Match Incident Panel verdicts published weekly on the league’s website and app
Why it matters
Rights holders: should treat officiating transparency as inventory, not only compliance. The NFL turned mic’d-up audio into a decades-long franchise. The Premier League is extending this content vault
Broadcasters: get genuinely new replay assets in a rights cycle where every pound needs justifying
Brands should be asking what “presented by” looks like on ref audio moments before someone else does
Clubs: Something that appears to be missing on the (roadmap this year at least) is the ability to monetise the clips for commercial partners eg presented highlights as they would be able to do with match highlights post game.
Perhaps the PL is waiting another season of data and validation before opening this up
2) AI emerges as a new Partnership asset
Salford City x Accenture. A multi-year deal putting AI, data and technology at the centre of a League Two club’s growth plans. Internal operations, streaming, fan platforms, international expansion, across the men’s team, the Lionesses and the academy. And Accenture goes on the back of every shirt. Not a sponsorship with some innovation bolted on. A transformation engagement paid for partly in kit real estate, joining Accenture’s sports portfolio alongside the WTA, NFL and The R&A.
The Class of 92 get a global AI partner. Accenture gets a working showcase it can sell to every rights holder in the game.
Add in the FIFA x Globant deal to this as another example of the growing trend AI-enablement as a sponsorship asset category.
We are seeing a clubs internal AI enablement and digital transformation strategy being put up for grabs as a new marketing asset to offset the cost of external consultants and drive new direct revenue.
Fan AI activation: the AI Creator kit goes on pitch
In other news.. the partnership activation side we saw MAJOR update to one of the most compelling fan AI activations in sport.
Last week City and PUMA revealed the 2026/27 Third kit, and it was designed by a fan. Elliott’s design was one of 180,000 submissions to the PUMA AI Creator platform in 2025 and it will now be worn by Maresca’s and Jeglertz’s teams all season.
December 2024, AI Creator launches with City. 54k users, 180k designs, 1.7 million ratings from 206 countries in 10 days.
A couple of questions I would be asking myself strategically If I was in a club/brand seatWhat part of my IP can I tear off and give to fans in a sandbox to co create with to drive new media value and traffic to owned and operated platforms
What could be a quicker path to production than something physical that requires a huge lag in production process?
Why it matters
Most people are still talking the talk about how to get 99% of their workforce using AI like a more expensive version of Google search
The smartest clubs and leagues are externalising the digital transformation challenge and turning it into a paid asset that a enterprise will pay them for in return for marketing assets and case study
AI Kit Creator physical product launch reminds us that there is so much opportunity space in Sport x AI beyond better cheaper faster (eg internal use cases) and that is personally what gets me really excited about this space as cost saving will be table stakes
3) Gaming: The Last Open Channel to the Next Gen
Okay, this one isnt a net new story per se but think directionally it is something I cant stop thinking about: How will global social media bans and regulations on under 18s play out for sports digtial fan engagement strategies.
For too long clubs have effectively had their relationships dependant on social channels alone - that will have to change soon. Can a dual strategy of showing up on high traffic gaming platforms and an owned an operated gaming/gamification strategy solve for this?
Fast forward to spring 2027. Under the current provisions of social ban the UK audience has just legally vanished from every major social platform. TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Facebook, X, all gone for that cohort. So where do you reach the fans who’ll be buying season tickets in 2035?
The regulatory squeeze turns this from interesting into urgent. Roblox sits outside the UK ban, though stranger-contact and livestreaming features will still be restricted for under-16s. Clubs need to shift next-gen engagement onto gaming platforms and their own products, and they have roughly a season and a half to do it.
Roblox x PL: What happend last season
On Roblox: Spurs launched a full stadium world on Roblox and turned their kit launch into a game mechanic Spurs Adventure Arena
The Premier League itself is already on the platform with Dribble Dash
Man City’s Blue Moon has run since 2022 and has welcomed over ten million visitors, with StickerBook Challenge hiding player stickers inside Roblox’s most popular games driving 55 million + unique fan engagements
Owned and Operated : The AI build it vs buy playAlongside building activations on high traffic gaming platforms as a solution. I think we will see even more Clubs opt to build their own hypercasual mini games to engage and retain current fans on their owned and operated platforms. I have chatted to several Heads of digital in the off season and it is clear that we are at tipping point where clubs can look to build their own games with next gen AI coding tools like curson, and base44. Evertons Bluedle is an early case study in this space.
Everton’s Bluedle - The first DIY AI game in the Premier League?
A daily Wordle-style guess-the-Everton-player game on the club’s own site.
Running since June 2026
Six guesses, five indicators, new player every day, streaks. Modest, and quietly brilliant.
Built with Base 44 AI coding platform
I havent been able to confirm the numbers re visits and engagement but I think the very fact that a PL team is building their own games and digital experiences that once would have invovled an external vendor is the biggest signal to watch!
For me, this is the real unlock of the gen and AI coding cycle for club digital teams. The build-versus-buy line just moved. Small owned games, quizzes, trackers and tools now sit firmly on the build side. Save the procurement budget for the stadium worlds and high traffic platforms.
Why it matters
Rights holders are on the clock. Across the world tightening restrictions on algorithmic social are about to cut adrift youth audiences from club via legacy digital channels that clubs have long been overly dependant on for years
Next gen gen ai coding platforms could play a meaningful part in solving for this allowing teams to building their own mini games which drive and reclaim attention and engagement and drive new sponsorship activation inventory and revneue once they have proved traction and engagement
Right thats it for this week folks!
Thanks for reading and enjoy the start of the new English Football season - whoever you are cheering on!