The EuroLeague Players Association has greenlighted its athletes to wear sensor-laden smart shirts during live games. The data will be used exclusively on the HEED social platform to engage fans.
The players’ association, which was only recently formed to represent players rights in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, voted to support the new wearable initiative as one of its first voting decisions since its June 2018 inception. HEED said there was “widespread support among players.”
The decision adds to a growing number of professional sports that are starting to approve of players wearing sensors during games. NFL players have been wearing Zebra Technologies RFID chips in their shoulder pads for the past few seasons, which has fueled fan engagement products. The NHL is currently testing a tracking system that would place chips in player shoulder pads and the hockey puck.
“This is incredible news for sports fans, as it signals that AI and IoT are imbedding themselves into the modern sports experience in a whole new way,” said HEED CEO Danna Rabin, in a statement. “EuroLeague players clearly understand that this is the future and we are thrilled that they are with us as we continue to change the way fans experience their favorite sports.”
HEED secured the deal as part of a broader partnership with EuroLeague Basketball. The company uses sensors, cameras, analytics and artificial intelligence to identify a game’s most exciting moments and deliver statistics via its app in a visual and graphical way.
Through its partnership with the league, HEED will leverage all existing media and data collection in EuroLeague arenas, along with, now, player-tracking sensors. The majority of EuroLeague players across all teams are expected to wear the sensors, which are imbedded into athletic compression shirts worn beneath jerseys.
The company has already started using the EuroLeague data to deliver insights—things such as determining who jumped the highest on a dunk or when was the crowd most hyped—about live game action to fans’ mobile phones in near real-time.