FIFA doubles down on fan experience ahead of World Cup kick off

Kicking off on 20 November, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 takes place in an age where innovative digital customer experiences are not only desired but increasingly common. As such, organizations beyond the enterprise space are looking to leverage their corner of the total experience (TX). In sport this means the fan experience is taking on new meaning for teams, associations, stadium operators and leagues.

Keeping up with the shift, FIFA has been working to innovate the fan experience for the thousands who attend this year’s World Cup tournament in person and the anticipated five billion viewers who will tune in around the world.

Masters of movement

Pre-tournament, FIFA joined forces with Visa – its official payment technology partner – and together they have unveiled a first-of-its-kind hybrid experience. The Visa ‘Masters of Movement’ program featured an NFT auction where digital art inspired by iconic goals could be purchased ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

Held in early November, the auction on Crypto.com featured NFTs of five legendary footballers, with all auction proceeds benefitting UK charity Street Child United.

Andrea Fairchild, senior vice-president and head of sponsorships at Visa, said: “As FIFA World Cup 2022 approaches, we want to celebrate football, art and technology through the lens of what makes the FIFA World Cup so special – wildly impassioned fans, legendary athletes and for a few short weeks, the ability to bring the world together in a uniquely connected way.”

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What is the fan experience?

In the same way that a great customer experience helps businesses to attract and retain customers, a great fan experience turns casual fans into avid fans and creates casual fans from those who have not previously been supporters.

Depending on where the fan is located, their experience can include everything from venue parking to immersive viewing. While most think about fan experience with respect to the gameday and arena, these experiences can be digital too, as FIFA and Visa have demonstrated.

The American National Football League (NFL) is already across this and developing new fan experiences through initiatives such as NFL Labs, its internal technology and innovation division, and the more recent NFL All Day, an official NFT video digital collectible platform.
The NFL recently stated that it is “hyper-focused” on engaging fans aged 35 and under, a generation that is less willing to enjoy game day through the traditional medium of terrestrial television.

To this end, the NFL has developed partnerships with Meta and Snapchat to find new ways to engage the younger generation of fans.

Ian Trombetta, senior vice-president, social, influencer and content marketing at the NFL, says: “We are always looking to push the edges of what is possible to deepen that engagement and also test and learn along with our fans. We can offer a lot of scale and engagement right out of the gate with our fan base, so the platform partners see that as advantageous. For us, it just enables us to learn along the way and ultimately build fandom.”

FIFA offers a new way for fans to get involved in the World Cup

Fan Zone organizers may have scored an own goal with the price of beer, but for the 2022 tournament, FIFA has taken its fan experience to a new level with the Fan Experience Panel. Announced back in June, it is made up of 25 football fans from around the world who are being consulted before and during the tournament to ensure the fan experience is on side.
In recent months the panel has allowed FIFA a rare chance to judge the fans' response to potential new initiatives while giving fans a say in how the world’s biggest sporting event develops.

The panel’s goal is to guide the fan experience during planning with a focus on technology innovations. The panel will be consulted during a series of beta tests and workshops that will showcase new technologies and innovations being developed by FIFA.

Johannes Holzmüller, director of football, technology and innovation at FIFA says: “As we look to enhance the football experience on and off the pitch, we want to provide fans with a meaningful voice to help shape the game they love.”

CX Network will be covering more fan experience innovations over the course of the tournament.