Groundbreaking changes Implants in the brain and titanium parts in the foot - is this what the future of football looks like?

In an interview with "The Red Bulletin", an expert in sports innovation gives a fascinating insight into the technological changes that could fundamentally change the sport.

Sascha L. Schmidt researches the future of sport. In an interview with "The Red Bulletin", he gives an insight into how football and sports in general could change - both for spectators and for the athletes themselves. Below is an overview of the most interesting visions.

"Why shouldn't we watch a European Championship final in virtual space in twenty years' time?" asks Schmidt. Manchester City's stadium is already available in the Metaverse today. Instead of desperately trying to get hold of tickets, fans could in future experience a match from the comfort of their couch - as an avatar in the virtual front row, equipped with VR goggles. A scenario that could make it possible to unite a billion people in a virtual stadium.

But that's not all: traditional TV broadcasts will also be personalized. Schmidt explains: "We're both watching the same game, and yet you have a completely different experience to me. Because the algorithm knows that you like to see the coach more often or, for example, the goalkeeper's view when the striker runs towards him. At some point, no two viewers would have the same experience."

Another revolutionary approach: hologram technology. Games could be projected simultaneously in stadiums around the world. "The final match would then simply be projected into every stadium and the players would run across the pitch as holograms - cheered on by real fans," says Schmidt. This would combine the magic of a packed stadium with the flexibility of virtual events.

What could this look like in practice? The Swiss national team will face Brazil in the 2030 World Cup final in Saudi Arabia. It would now be possible to watch exactly the same match in the Wankdorf and the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro as in Saudi Arabia. With the difference, of course, that you wouldn't see the real players dashing across the pitch, but only their holograms.

Another fascinating idea is that spectators could intervene directly in the game in the future. "There was already a fan boost in Formula E," recalls Schmidt. Fans determined which driver received a speed boost. Such mechanisms could be transferred to football with the help of nanobots.

"In the USA, there is already a football league where fans can log in via NFTs and then actually intervene in the game. For example, by voting on the game strategy or new signings. They will soon also have a share in revenues - basically like a group of shareholders," says Schmidt.

Technology will also revolutionize training. Schmidt reports on training halls at FC Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig with interactive 360-degree screens that already simulate scenes and improve decision-making. "Beyond Sports provides clubs like Ajax Amsterdam with VR goggles that can be used to recreate scenes from a match."

Digital twins could also play a key role: "Then you can simulate a duel against this person or measure yourself against their fitness, for example in a virtual bike race. Some of this is already possible today." Another scenario would be AI-controlled humanoid robots that could be used in tennis, for example, and could then perfectly imitate the playing style of a star like Novak Djokovic based on countless data.

The fusion of man and machine will fundamentally change sport. Prostheses or exoskeletons could push performance limits and make new records possible. Schmidt cites the example of Paralympic sport, where athletes are dependent on prostheses and are already setting new records thanks to the further development of these aids. But also older people who need an artificial hip or knee, for example.

"You can imagine people who look normal on the outside but have titanium parts in their feet that make their shot twice as strong. The binary is slowly dissolving. I can no longer make a clear distinction: This is human, this is machine," says Schmidt. However, this poses completely new questions for the world of sport. "Who is still allowed to take part in which competition? Or is there an open class in which all aids are allowed?"

If people with disabilities are given technologies that make them just as capable as people without disabilities, or even more so, then this could change the image of disability, believes Schmidt, and goes even further: "There is huge potential for the whole of Paralympic sport. I like to call it: 'The old odd becomes the new cool'. The formerly limited athlete then becomes the one with the cooler equipment."

As always, when we come into contact with new technologies and artificial intelligence, many new possibilities and opportunities open up on the one hand, while on the other hand there are many questions to which there are still no answers. Some are simply excited about the developments, while others fear the worst. The majority, however, are likely to oscillate between enthusiasm, indifference and concern. In all likelihood, technological developments will not bypass the world of sport, that seems as certain as the Amen in church. The question is how we deal with it.