5G in football – a winning strategy

5G might not currently be top of mind for football teams as they respond to the unique and evolving challenge that is COVID-19. But teams should consider that 5G may well be integral to the future of elite sport, impacting results on the pitch, operational performance, the fan experience and, possibly, financial results.

Successful new technologies enable evolution as well as revolution. 5G is often positioned as revolutionary, enabling, for example viewing in virtual reality, or the use of augmented reality applications.ⁱ

But the most significant benefits from 5G are likely to be evolutionary: upgrades to a wide range of processes, not just those taking place on match day, but, also, every other day of the year.

So what is 5G, and why does it matter to football teams?

5G offers multiple increments to the performance levels of 4G, which has been available in the UK since 2012.

One of the upgrades is transmission speed: up to 20 Gbit/s per cell, when all upgrades are deployed. These speeds are far faster than what a consumer would need, but are within the parameters of what a TV crew may require.

5G enables TV cameras to be connected wirelessly, with all the freedom that offers, but with the speed performance and reliability of a wired connection. Major stadia already have fixed locations, equipped with fibre connections for TV cameras, but 5G enables camera crews to roam around without worrying about the length of a cable. Broadcasters around the world, including BT Sport and Fox Sports have already used 5G for broadcasts.

A 5G connection could enable cameras to relay footage from the team bus (before and after the match), to provide more behind-the-scenes access, to relay content from the team hotel when playing away matches, or to provide additional viewing angles.

Cameras have been proliferating in the coverage of all elite sports for many years – be this multiple in-car cameras in Formula 1 or cameras embedded within cricket stumps – there is effectively no limit on the video feeds that could be added in to enhance the TV experience, and the value of televised coverage. In the 2018 Winter Olympics, 5G was used to relay images from 4K cameras integrated into the front of bobsleighs.ⁱⁱ

The very high speeds that 5G can offer should also ease the migration to 8K coverage of matches. 8K video is four times the file size of 4K, which itself is four times greater than HD. Branded 8K TV sets are already, as of 2020, available for under £2,500ⁱⁱⁱ. The price points will continue to decline over the course of the decade, and sports will be one the most compelling forms of content filling those screens. 5G could be used to connect 8K TV cameras^iv.

One aspect of 5G which was not available in prior generations of mobile technology is network slicing, which enables the partitioning of segments of the network for specific applications, with custom service level agreements. For live TV, reliability is paramount, and a mobile operator could offer a specific contract for a guaranteed uplink, with an agreed level of reliability. The ability to guarantee quality over a wireless connection could remove the need for a satellite truck for some broadcasts^v.

Or, a ground could set up a private 5G network, with spectrum rights conceded to the team for its campus, and control which entities had access to that network. This means that a football team could have the rights to a specific tranche of spectrum (the radio waves which data is carried over) for its campus^vi.

5G can be used for more than filming matches; it is likely to be increasingly important for training. Video capture is commonly used in training. Additional viewing angles provide new perspectives that can feed into new approaches. 5G can enable cameras to relay images to monitors on the other side of the field. Manchester City has been using drones to obtain aerial view of play as a real-time input into training sessions^vii. Drones can capture the entire pitch, or follow the movement of a specific player. Drones can send images over Wi-FI, but 5G connections should be more reliable and offer better range.^viii

During a game, trackside cameras can also be placed to monitor individual player movement without players having to wear GPS trackers, which can be cumbersome, and which collect a limited set of movement related data. Cameras on the main pitch can also enable additional data to be collected, such as orientation of players during the course of a play, or throughout a session^ix.

Or, 5G could be used to collect data in real time from multiple sensors on a player, measuring an array of vital signs^x. These data could be used to help inform when a player should be taken off, to prevent injury^xi. The cost of injured players to the Premier League was estimated at £221 million for the 2018/2019 season, during which time there were an estimated 764 injuries^xii.

5G also enables far more connections in a given area: up to a million connections per square kilometre, versus a maximum of 100,000 for 4G. This capability could be used to enhance multiple operational and strategic aspects of a football ground. Every seat in a ground to be connected, enabling purchasing of refreshments from each seat. But it’s not just static objects that could benefit.

Lawn mowing machines could be controlled remotely. The grass at a training ground could be cut to the same length as pitch for the next away match^xiii. This would enable players to get used to the movement of the ball on that pitch in terms of speed and bounce. A mower equipped with a camera could relay video of the pitch via a 5G connection to help assess the quality of the turf; Ajax currently uses sensors in mowers to monitor the state of the pitch^xiv.

Sprinklers could also be controlled with greater precision, with each nozzle connected. The of water sprayed at half time could be varied, on a per nozzle basis, according to the home’s strategy for the second half^xv. A well-watered pitch tends to favour faster passing, and a higher-paced game; conversely a dryer pitch may be better for a defensive approach^xvi.

Preventative maintenance of sprinklers and undersoil heating machinery could also be improved by connecting key components to a 5G network so as to provide early warning of elements needing repair or replacement. At a more prosaic level, grounds could use 5G to help with pest control, as happened at Uaiji, one of the sites of the Winter Olympics in 2018. Sensors were used to detect animals, and a combination of scents and pre-recorded voice and sounds were used to repel them .

Other operational aspects could also benefit from 5G, including what may feel like quite mundane processes such as processing credit card payments. Vendors of food or merchandise around the game, equipped with handheld 4G connected credit card machines, may not be able to connect when a stadium is busy, due to the aggregate demand on what is a shared network. But 5G can enable a slice of bandwidth to be dedicated to the singular process of card payment authorisation within seconds^xviii. 5G trials in Bristol Harbour have already proven this to be an important commercial application of the new standard.

5G can also enhance the experience for fans. A popular benefit is likely to be the ability to send more photos and more video while watching the game. But more esoteric applications, such as augmented reality overlays may not be that useful when fans are focused on the players on the pitch in front of them.

The game of elite football spans multiple facets – from results on the pitch to annual revenue. Underlying each outcome are multiple processes, many of which could be improved through the application of 5G technologies. Football teams should study how entities across all vertical sectors are applying 5G and determine whether these deployments would also make sense in their environment. Preventative maintenance applications used to inspect pipelines may also be adapted to maintenance of pitch and stands. Usage of 5G in hospitals to relay ultrasound scans for remote analysis may also be applicable in understanding injuries to players, whilst still at the side of the pitch^xix. 5G is a brand new technology whose benefits are still being unravelled, often serendipitously. But as 5G is likely to yield competitive advantage for elite teams, they should continue to monitor developments.