Sports Technology Market Size to Hit USD 117.93 Bn by 2034

Sports Technology Market Size and Forecast 2024 to 2034

The global sports technology market size is expected to worth USD 17.81 billion in 2024 and is anticipated to reach around USD 117.93 billion by 2034, growing at a solid CAGR of 20.81% over the forecast period 2024 to 2034. The rise in audience engagement in sports and increasing competition among athletes are the driving factors of the sports technology market.

Sports Technology Market Key Takeaways

• Europe dominated the sports technology market with the largest market share of in 2023.
• By type, the smart stadium segment led the global market in 2023.
• By type, the analytics & statistics segment is projected to grow at the fastest rate in the market during the forecast period.
• By sports, the soccer segment contributed more than 34% of market share in 2023.
• By sports, the cricket segment will expand rapidly in the market during the forecast period.
• By end-user, the sports leagues segment generated the highest market share of 37% in 2023.
• By end-user, the sports club segment is expected to grow rapidly in the market over the forecast period.

Europe Sports Technology Market Size and Growth 2024 to 2034

The Europe sports technology market size was exhibited at USD 5.01 billion in 2023 and is projected to be worth around USD 40.69 billion by 2034, poised to grow at a CAGR of 20.97% from 2024 to 2034.

Europe dominated the sports technology market in 2023. The rising fans’ engagement, increasing collaborations and investments, and advancements in technology augment the market in the region. Another factor driving the market is the presence of key players. The leading tech giants like Meta, Apple, and Google are heavily investing in sports technology.

European governments support innovation in sports through funding and infrastructure development, fostering a strong ecosystem for sports technology startups and research institutions. Countries like Germany, France, and the UK have invested in smart stadiums and digital fan engagement tools, contributing to market growth.

The increasing collaborations, emerging startups, presence of key players, state-of-the-art sports infrastructure, growing demand in eSports, and technological advancements drive the market growth. The European government is also at the forefront of promoting sports technology through funding and various sports policies.

Asia Pacific has the capacity to expand rapidly in the sports technology market over the forecast period. The market is driven by advancements in technology, the conduction of major sporting events, increased collaborations, and rising competition among athletes. Countries like China, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, India, and Australia are at the forefront of sports technology in the region. The Chinese government has made significant infrastructural and sports development investments as it recognizes the role that sports play in promoting an active and healthy community.

• The Indian sports industry had an 11% growth in 2023, with a revenue of INR 15,766 crores compared to 2022. The digital ad revenue saw a 40% growth to INR 2,870 crores in 2023 compared to 2022.
• In June 2024, Ballogy, Inc., a skills development and assessment platform for athletes, announced a strategic partnership with AquaBloom International Sports Technology Group (ABSG) to advance sports in Asia market.
• In May 2024, IIT Madras announced a funding of up to INR 50 million to incubate novel sports-tech startups in India. The start-ups will have their core AI and IoT-based products involving sensors, networks, actuators, and controllers.

Sports Technology Market: Revolutionizing Sports

The sports technology market involves the design, development, and utilization of devices, equipment, systems, and software specifically for athletic purpose. The market is rapidly evolving with increasing engagement of audience, improving athlete performance, managing sports teams, and analyzing on and off field activities. The sports technology sector is the origin of cutting-edge and innovative methods to boost athletic performance, avoid injuries, captivate spectators, and enhance the whole professional sports event experience.

Some common sports technology products include wearable technology, sports injury prevention, data tracking and data collection, event scheduling, and goal-line technology. It enhances the viewers’ experience by providing real-time data analytics and eases the umpire’s decision with replay options and goal-line technologies. It can also help prevent and diagnose injuries, monitor heart rate and oxygen levels, and monitor calorie intake. Furthermore, strategic business ventures by key players in the sports technology market have been observed in recent years.

• In July 2024, the Professional Game Match Officials (PGMOL) announced a collaboration with Kitman Labs to provide access to match officials and performance staff of real-time data and analytics, including athletes’ performance, training, and medical data.
• In July 2024, Stack Sports, the leading provider of sports management solutions, announced a strategic partnership with The Miracle League. The collaboration will facilitate Miracle League to streamline online player registration processes, easily manage schedules, and improve communication channels, resulting in a more seamless experience for athletes, coaches, and administrators.

SportsTechX’s Report on the Sports Technology Industry

• In June 2024, SportsTechX, the leading data analyst about startups and innovation in sports, released a Global SportsTech Ecosystem Report, highlighting the significance of new funds and initiatives in the sports technology market. The report was generated from reviewing 7000 startups and nearly 5000 funding deals in Global SportsTech. According to the report, North America had the highest deal flow, with USD 49 billion in 2023.

Asia Pacific dominated the mergers and acquisition deal, accounting for 44% of the market share in 2023, followed by North America with 33% and Europe with 23%. In addition, approximately 45.1% of investment in North America and 68.2% of investment in Europe was made to improve the activity and performance of athletes, while 73.7% of investment was made in the fans and content in Asia Pacific. All these data highlight the demand for sports technology at a global level.

How AR and VR are Shaping the Future of Sports?

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality augment the way sports are played, watched, and experienced by enhancing performance, safety, and engagement. These technological innovations can assist coaches and athletes in uplifting their game through specialized techniques. They enable visual feed of the athletes’ form and technique with precision metrics such as angles, distances, and speed, allowing for minute adjustments. It empowers a larger audience and generates additional revenue for the teams and organizations.

AR VR can enhance viewership by amplifying the entertainment level and information value of its sports broadcasting. They also enable referees or umpires to make informed decisions on and off the field by utilizing technologies such as optical tracking, vision processing, and creative graphic technologies like Hawk-Eye. They can also provide new opportunities for sponsors and advertisers by creating virtual ads and displays during a match.

• According to a report, the adoption of AR in sports technology increased the viewership by 15%.
• In July 2024, SailGP launched new AR and VR technologies in its application to enhance the viewing experience. The new feature enabled viewers to have an immersive 3D experience with a 360-degree angle of the racecourse on water graphical overlays, live stats, F50 boat tracking, and much more.

Market Scope

Market Dynamics

Driver

Increasing viewership

The increase in the number of viewers in the past few decades has played a vital role in uplifting the sports technology market. As technology advances at a rapid pace, modern sports organizations have a chance to connect with their supporters faster and easier, broadening their appeal and worldwide reach. The increasing popularity of sports encourages organizations and clubs to uncover a competitive edge by promoting advancements in technology.

The enhanced streaming services are estimated to reach USD 80 billion by 2028.

The digitization of sports and fan experience can strengthen engagement, build brand value, and drive new avenues of growth. The viewers can watch their favorite game from any location with multiple camera angles and better quality. Additionally, the mobile apps provide detailed player information and also enable live commentary in their language. Modern technologies like AR and VR further augment the viewership experience. Hence, emerging technologies play a major role in sports, enabling companies to invest in and capitalize on the growing demand for their use among consumers.

Restraint

Cyber security and live viewership

It is now necessary for the sports industry to embrace technology to help achieve better sporting and financial results. However, there are several challenges that need to be overcome in this digital era. One of the major challenges of sports technology is the risk of cyber threats. Technology helps in recording an athlete’s performance analysis, health, etc. data, which can be hacked and can invade privacy.

The adoption of the sports technology market services reduces the number of viewers in the stadium for a live match. Advanced technology offers a better viewing experience for people watching the match on TVs or mobile phones. Additionally, the availability of technology to all clubs and training centers is difficult due to higher costs. The higher cost thereby makes sports exclusive to wealthy people.

Opportunity

State-of-the-art research and development facilities

The increasing demand for sports technology encourages state-of-the-art research and development in the field. Today’s digital science research offers an arsenal of tools and techniques, from real-time data collection to advanced performance analysis and the generation of prediction models that are revolutionizing the training and performance enhancement of elite athletes. The increasing investments also support more research and innovation in the sports sector. Numerous sports and tech brands are developing their own sports research labs using computational technology to fill the gap in sports technology.

• In April 2024, Nike launched its innovative Air Zoom shoes through a project called Athlete Imagined Revolution (AIR). The company created a sole that takes the shape of a runner’s foot and increases springiness and energy with ZoomX and ReactX foam cushioning.

Type Indsights

The smart stadium segment led the global sports technology market in 2023. The advancements in technology and changing consumer behavior are driving a dramatic transition in fan involvement in the fast-changing sports industry. In light of today’s sophisticated home entertainment systems and the most recent statistics and updates available on mobile phones, stadium managers and operators are coming up with innovative strategies to keep spectators entertained and secure at the stadium.

They integrate technologies like sensors, cameras, and 5G to keep the audience engaged within the stadium. The 5G Wi-Fi connectivity offers innovative technologies, fan engagement opportunities, and promotional activities. The mobile application enables parking location, ticket booking, selecting seats at the stadium, real-time statistics, and much more.

• In May 2024, Stadicom, an Israeli startup, developed an application for the audience in football stadiums. The app enables replay of the game, using industry-standard Video Assistant Referee footage on their own devices and from multiple angles.

The analytics & statistics segment is projected to grow at the fastest rate in the sports technology market during the forecast period. Sports analytics and statistics enable real-time data to improve the performance of the athletes. The rising competition among athletes demands the need for efficient analysis and statistics governing support staff to make effective decisions.

The analytics in the sports field can be of two types: on-field analytics and off-field analytics. The on-field data analytics gives data about in-game strategies, player records, nutritional data, etc., whereas the off-field data analytics helps in ticket sales, merchandise sales, fan engagement, etc.

• In July 2024, the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad, announced a collaboration with Athlyte, Inc., to enhance sports analytics with advanced algorithms and data models for Athlyte’s platform. The platform will enable U.S. college sports communicators to search for statistics and other sports information with the help of natural language processing and advanced search techniques.

Sports Insights

The soccer segment held the largest share of the sports technology market in 2023. Soccer is the most watched sport worldwide. Sports technology is not only useful for on-field decisions but also for off-field training of the players. FIFA World Cup first used the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in 2018 to assist with referee decisions. Another technology, semi-automated offside technology (SAOT), was first used on soccer grounds in Qatar in 2022 to calculate the exact position of the players and the ball in real-time if offside has occurred.

Smart technologies like touch trainers and smart targets enable players to enhance their technical skills. Similarly, training regimens are also available for players, such as data tracking, to enable coaches to design training sessions and sensors to monitor heart rate and physical stress.

• The soccer World Cup viewership reached record heights in 2022 with approximately 5 billion viewers, out of which 1.5 billion viewers watched the World Cup final.
• In January 2024, the Major League Soccer (MLS) announced the launch of the MLS Innovation Lab to shape the future of sports through the identification of cutting-edge startups and advanced technologies for next-gen athletes and enhance fan experience.

The cricket segment will expand rapidly in the sports technology market during the forecast period. After soccer, cricket is the most viewed sport with the highest viewership in countries like India, UK, and Australia. Advanced technologies like Hawk-Eye, Virtual Eye, and Ultra-Edge have made on-field decisions for umpires easier. Additionally, technologies like high-speed cameras monitor a player’s movements and provide real-time feedback, GPS trackers monitor a player’s fitness levels and workload, and much more provide a deeper insight into a player’s performance.

• The 2023 cricket World Cup final recorded 300 million viewers alone in India due to advanced viewing experience through AR and VR technologies.

End-user Insights

The sports leagues segment dominated the sports technology market in 2023. A sports league is a professional body that governs the competition among teams of different countries or different franchises. The use of AI by teams has enabled them to extract more information from in-game data, thereby expanding their understanding. The massive investments of sports leagues in AI have encouraged teams and athletes to reach new heights of innovation in performance analysis and tactical decision-making. Sports leagues like the National Football League, Major League Baseball, and National Basketball Association are among the highest revenue-generating leagues globally.

• In July 2024, the National Football League and Sony announced a partnership to transform the future of football. The collaboration will expand Sony’s sports technology through Hawk-Eye innovations and the development of on-field and sideline technologies.

The sports club segment is expected to grow rapidly in the sports technology market over the forecast period. A sports club is an association of players who play different sports. The increase in collaboration and investments to adopt advanced technology boosts the sports club segment. The adoption of technology helps improve the player’s performance by providing more accurate data and assisting in decision-making.

Sports Technology Market Companies

• Genius Sports
• Whoop
• Stupa Sports Analytics
• Catapult Sports
• Kitman Labs Limited
• Pixellot
• Adidas
• Hudl
• Deloitte
• Panasonic
• Sony
• Telemetry Sports
• Nextiles
• VALD Performance
• Strava
• Stack Sports

Recent Developments

• In March 2024, Atos announced the plans to open MENA HQ, a sports technology center of excellence in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It will leverage best-in-class IT services and solutions to global sporting events to benefit athletes, fans, and the sports movement.
• In January 2024, NBC Sports Next’s SportsEngine announced a partnership with Pixellot to enhance live-streaming opportunities for sports venues across North America at no cost. The collaboration aimed to provide a free streaming solution with Pixellot’s AI-automated cameras by reducing financial barriers and enhancing streaming capabilities.
• In March 2024, Diamond Kinetics (DK), a sports technology company, announced the acquisition of sidelineHD, an innovative youth sports media platform specializing in livestreaming and video highlights.
• In July 2024, Betterguards announced the launch of The Betterguard 2.0, its latest ankle brace technology product. The novel product utilizes micro-hydraulic technology and provides protection from ankle injuries without sacrificing freedom of movement.

Segments coverd in the Report

By Type

• Smart Stadium

  • Software

    • Stadium & Public Security
    • Building Automation
    • Event Management
    • Others

  • Services

• Analytics & Statistics

  • On-field

    • Player & Team Analysis
    • Video Analysis
    • Performance Improvement
    • Refereeing Decisions
    • Health Assessment

  • Off-field

    • Fan Engagement Ticket Pricing
    • Content Platforms
    • Fan Experience
    • Fantasy Sports

  • Others

• Devices

  • Wearables
  • Digital Signage
  • Camera

• Esports

  • Tickets & Merchandise
  • Sponsorship & Advertisement
  • Others

By Sports

• Soccer
• Cricket
• American Football/Rugby
• Baseball
• Basketball
• Golf
• Ice Hockey
• Tennis
• Others

By End-user

• Sports Leagues
• Sports Clubs
• Sports Associations
• Others

By Geography

• North America
• Asia Pacific
• Europe
• Latin America
• Middle East & Africa