The German Football League (DFL) has teamed up with telecommunications firm Vodafone to roll out 5G at stadiums in the Bundesliga, the top flight of soccer in Germany.

As part of the two-year cooperation, which starts with the 2019/20 season, the DFL and Vodafone will launch a real-time, augmented reality (AR) app that will speed up the delivery of match information to spectators without buffering or connectivity issues.

The platform will utilise AR to provide fans at the stadium with previously unavailable information before, during and after the game. It will also highlight new performance data such as player sprint speeds.

The real-time flow of information is based on around 1,600 games and 3.6 million position points surveyed by the DFL during a Bundesliga match. The app then visualises that data to produce live graphics, statistics and analysis.

The first Bundesliga stadium to be equipped with Vodafone’s 5G network, which officially went live on Wednesday, will be VfL Wolfsburg’s Volkswagen Arena, which will apparently see its available network capacity increase by more than 60 per cent.

“As an innovation leader, the DFL is systematically pushing ahead with new sports and media technologies to give viewers in the stadium and in front of the screens additional opportunities,” said DFL managing director Christian Seifert. “We succeed with the connection of 5G and real-time information. Also for clubs and partners a strong 5G infrastructure offers optimal conditions.”

Average attendances at Bundesliga matches is around 43,000 and Vodafone claims it is receiving up to 500 gigabytes of data in stadiums through its network. The company added that in the past year alone the volume of data in venues has increased by around 50 per cent.

Hannes Ametsreiter, Vodafone chief executive, added: “Football lives from emotions. Also data and analysis are becoming more and more important for many fans. So far, they often did not exist until after the match on the local TV. We bring these worlds together now.

“Our partnership with the DFL is the kick-off for 5G in the Bundesliga. With the new mobile technology we bring real-time information to statistic lovers in the stands and increase the network capacity for the football fans in the stadium.”