The Technology powering the 2022 World Cup

Qatar 2022 is embracing tech like never before - and I don’t mean just because they’re keeping the Golden Boot award in the fridge.

While we could talk about the controversey around migrant workers in Qatar, the last-minute alcohol ban, rendering thousands of Budweiser boxes obselete in a warehouse, or Qatar’s record on LGBTQ+ rights, I’m going to leave those to more serious, credible and competent folks. Me on the other hand - I’m going to highlight some cool tech you should pay attention to.

Let’s get to it!

Web3 & NFTs

I’d be shocked if I didn’t start with this one too. I’d be equally surprised if sponsors ignored this completely, despite the ~ 90+% crash in prices we’re experiencing.

A recent example of bringing in the web3 world to the traditional sports world, would be the new World Cup ad from Adidas, where a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT character appears with stars like Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema (two of the most recent Ballon D’Or recipients - the award for the best player in the world).

Other brands, like Visa, Crypto.com and Swiss watchmaker Hublot are helping fans make digital art or explore virtual stadiums.

In an early edition of the newsletter, I also wrote about Upland - the virtual world platform that’s created to look like Earth. They’ve partnered with FIFA to create NFT collections and organize digital and in-person watch parties.

The focus is to fuse the best of online and offline worlds to bring in context and connect people through shared interests.

There’a also a partnership between FIFA and Roblox, as well as Nike partnering with “Rocket League” to connect fan bases who have different interests (gaming, fashion, art etc).

My take: hit and miss - some experiences will be magical for an emerging web3 audience, while others will be passing fads.

The FIFA Metaverse Games

A couple of weeks ago, FIFA announced it had teamed up with blockchain-powered video game companies Uplandme, Matchday, Phygtl and Altered State Machine to launch four metaverse games.

The goal will be to engage a wider group of fans ahead of the World Cup - this includes an AI League, that involves a 4vs4 casual game played between AI-controlled characters, with player input at fun and tactical moments.

FIFA has also unveiled the Matchday Challenge: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Edition, an engaging casual social prediction game based on football cards. The game allows sports fans to enjoy not from just “getting it right” but by being the best among their friends.

The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in the Upland metaverse is another newly launched game from Uplandme. It’s a metaverse game mapped to the real world, where players can buy and sell virtual properties.

The last game is Phygtl – FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, a fan engagement mobile application that takes fandom into a new dimension. The game allows fans to augment a golden-globe-football right from the palm of their hands into their real-life environments.

Phygtl game will allow fans to own a little fragment of it to attach and eternalize their handpicked FIFA World Cup pictures and video moments.

My take: I’m skeptical - I don’t think this has taken off as much as they wanted. It felt like a tick-box exercise they felt they had to fulfill, rather than a meaningful experience for web3 natives.

Stadium made from shipping containers

Alright, a bit of a left-wing choice and not traditionally a ‘technology-led’ solution.

Colorful shipping containers and a modular steel structure make up Stadium 974, ahead of the World Cup.

The 40,000 seat sports venue near Doha’s port is the first stadium to be fully demountable in FIFA World Cup history.

Its modular structure combines repurposed shipping containers and a steel structure, parts of which are recycled.

The aim is for the stadium to be dismantled and reassembled in a new location after the football tournament in 2022, or repurposed as a series of smaller venues.

My take: I’m a fan - I think this is a cool idea to repurpose equipment and machinery for other events, especially for dealing with short-term tourist spikes, that only a World Cup can provide.

Until next time

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Fahim