Blockchain and IoT applications in Sports Industry (Part 31)
Welcome to the 31st part of the 100-part series on Blockchain.
Blockchain is an exciting technology that has the potential to change the way in which a number of industries work within a span of a couple of years.
And the sports industry is no exception.
In this article, we are going to discuss how blockchain technology is going to provide solutions to the pressing issues in the sports industry and bring about a radical shift in how this industry works.
Funding for professional athletes
Budding athletes face a lot of hurdles when it comes to funding their training and participating in sporting events across the world. Basic requirements such as sports equipment, cost of registration in tournaments, and travel costs are just a few of the challenges that these rising stars have to face day in and day out. They are always looking for a solution that can help them to deal with these unwanted hassles so that they can focus completely on their sports.
Blockchain can be a potential solution to many of these issues that these budding sportspersons have to go through. A Blockchain-based platform can serve these athletes, by enabling them to raise funds for their activities. This platform can act as an intermediate between the athletes and the potential investors. In this blockchain-powered system, the athletes will be required to upload their profiles stating their current achievements and their future sporting plans.
On the other side, sports fans and small investors can access these profiles of the athletes on this blockchain platform.
On this platform, they will decide or select the player that they want to invest in and they can also define the conditions for their investment for each individual player as they also seek future returns from these investments. Once all the terms and conditions are agreed upon by both parties, a smart contract will be signed between them containing all of these terms and conditions. Additionally, through this platform, investors and fans can also contribute funds to teams or clubs who have an active need for funding for their projects.
Antidoping data of athletes
Doping scandals are undermining the integrity of many sports players. For instance, during the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, hackers leaked the medical records of several athletes and made these files public. In such unwanted and unprecedented events, many of the athletes had to face reputational damage and many of them were forced to go through lengthy investigations. Their medical records were analyzed to discern what medications were administered to them and whether there was a legitimate reason for administering such medications. In such situations, even if an athlete is officially cleared of the doping charges, a whiff of doubt still hangs in the air, with reputational damaging effects on the athlete. Blockchain technology could provide the required cybersecurity and prevent cyber fraud by securing the medical records of these athletes.
The platform will also maintain fairness in the sports world, by ensuring that even the home federations don’t manipulate the data of the athletes to hide doping cases. Thus, blockchain technology can ensure clean sports by helping in this fight against doping while respecting the privacy of the athletes.
Tracking counterfeit sports goods
Sports industry is grappling with the challenges posed by counterfeit sports goods. The online ecosystem provides a perfect breeding ground for counterfeiters to sell fake products. Blockchain technology has the potential to curb the entry of counterfeit sports goods into the market. The complete information from raw materials used for the manufacturing of sports goods until it reaches the retailer would be registered on the Blockchain. The customer can scan the unique ID present on the sports good through his smartphone and can trace its provenance and the complete journey it has taken before coming in his hands.
IoT and Blockchain
IoT based smart sports activity sensors can become an athlete’s personal coach, helping him thoroughly with both motivation and instructions. These sensors will store the athlete’s data securely on the Blockchain, thus, making it resistant against hacking activities. These sensors can measure factors that can help athletes improve their form. These sensors can analyze the movements of players in the right direction to improve their game. For instance, IoT sensors in connected basketball capture data about the spin rate or spiral efficiency. It also tracks distance threw and other statistics. This data will be stored on the Blockchain and the processed data will be presented to the athlete exactly pinpointing his improvement areas.
Sports betting
Millions of people bet billions of dollars on sports every year. But there are challenges for bettors as well:
1. Currently, bettors have no way to establish the genuineness of the betting websites and in such a scenario these websites could easily take off their money.
2. And most importantly, there is a risk of the exploitation of their identity or information.
Blockchain can provide the required safety net for bettors and create a secure environment for betting. Let’s understand how Blockchain will work for betting. Betting can be between two or multiple players that will be registered on the Blockchain. The players will bet against each other about the outcome of a sports event and this information will be stored in the smart contracts.
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