The world of sports, teams, and individuals, has been expanding in every direction. That expansion has seen many technological innovations specifically for sports. 

An innovation used by 60 soccer leagues around the world and the National Football League (NFL) is the Video Assisted Refereeing (VAR). Created by the Royal Netherlands Football Association, the VAR is a system of 30 cameras around the stadium ranging from broadcasting cameras, slow-motion cameras, and HD wide-angle cameras. The 30 cameras then give multiple angles of potential penalties and relay the verdict to the referee. Although, it is not the most ‘foolproof’ way to know penalties because the referee is the one to make the final decision. However, the 30 different angles improve the situation significantly. The Premier League’s VAR system, Hawk-Eyes, helps determine off-side penalties, or if a player is in the opponent’s half without an opposing player. 

As safety is important everywhere, it is especially important in sports like American football. The helmets that football players wear have features like shock absorption which acts like an airbag to prevent whiplash in case of head injuries. There is also wearable technology, especially smartwatches such as the Apple Watch, that tells an athlete’s heart rate and helps to tell if an athlete is over-exerting themselves. With many more technologies for safety, sports are getting safer, although, there will always be risks. 

 Arguably the most exciting part of sports is the fan engagement, and with technology, nothing is impossible. From the kiss cams on jumbotrons to the polls of who’s going to win on social media, technology truly gets the fans engaged. Many sporting teams also have social media accounts such as Instagram. The teams can post stories of where their fans are watching from as well as live updates of the game, match, or meet. The technology used for fan engagement has also allowed for new jobs such as the social media manager or sports photographer. 

As sports expand, the technology will get more advanced and the games will get more exciting. There are many more innovations in sports available right now that are unbelievable.