Hi there. In this post, we’ll tell you about the potential of blockchain technology in sports.

Potential opportunities for blockchain technology in sport

1. Anti-doping

Sports regulators face a tension between the call for transparency and a need to respect an athlete’s privacy in this sensitive personal data relating to medical history. Imagine a secure record management system built on a private blockchain system, logging prescriptions and test results. Once data is inputted into a blockchain system its authenticity would need to be verified according to the network’s protocol before being irreversibly added into the blockchain and protected by cyptography making it near impossible to alter. A Blockchain system could provide a source of prescription and test result information that is both reliable and secure which could protect the integrity of sport and the individual’s data.

2. Cultivation and utilisation of big data

Blockchain technology offers a means of storing, verifying and transferring data. Data such as race metrics, pulse rates and biometric measurements can be added to the database directly from devices and verified as credible. The idea is that it can allow a sports person to understand their capabilities and coaches to manage personal training plans effectively by using big data.

3. Fan Engagement

Sports clubs have embraced the use of social media to harness fan engagement, but blockchain technology could take it one step further. Sports clubs could develop their own club-specific virtual currencies/tokens which could be spent by fans on tickets, merchandise and food and drink at matches. This could lead to operational efficiencies which could ultimately mean more profit for clubs. The system could allow for a peer-to-peer ticket exchange which could be popular with fans and allow the ticket re-sales market to be administered fairly between clubs and fans as well as circumnavigating the fake-ticket market. As a means of administering loyalty schemes, blockchain offers clubs creative options: clubs could use blockchain technology to reward fans by using smart contracts.

4. Sports rights management and asset tracking

Blockchain networks can help rights holders track rights they have licensed so they can easily identify rights which are sitting unexploited and can also use the blockchain network to facilitate automatic rights payments via smart contracts.