Football’s German Bundesliga rolled out 5G technology for the first time yesterday (Monday) during VfL Wolfsburg’s home match against TSG Hoffenheim.
In July, telecommunications company Vodafone partnered with the German Football League (DFL) to deliver 5G into stadia across Germany and Wolfsburg’s Volkswagen Arena was the first stadium to trial the technology last night.
In partnership with Vodafone, the DFL has developed a real-time app that allows fans to track player statistics during matches. Data included in the app will include passing stats, distance covered, the number of shots taken and even the speed at which a player is moving.
During yesterday’s match, select guests were able to test the prototype of the app, which was created in partnership with immersiv.io, a French company that specialises in the sports fan experience with augmented reality.
Vodafone Deutschland chief executive Hannes Ametsreiter said: “We are expanding the stadium experience for football fans. Information from the digital world and emotions from the stadium are melting together. In the future, statistics fans will be able use their smartphone to view all the information in real time that is otherwise available only on the ‘Sportschau’ in the evening.”
Andreas Heyden, an executive at DFL Digital Sports, told ESPN FC that the possibility of adding a shopping function or highlights feature to the app is being explored. The app will also incorporate augmented reality technology.
Vodafone signed a two-year deal with the DFL, which operates the Bundesliga and 2.Bundesliga. The partnership is designed to improve mobile reception by 60 per cent within stadia.
Earlier this month, Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich teamed up with rival telco Deutsche Telekom to deliver 5G technology in and around the Allianz Arena from next spring. The technology will allow for large amounts of data to be processed significantly quicker, ensuring video streams can be watched faster and in higher resolutions.
Image: VfLWolfsburgFußball
