How stadium technology will work after COVID-19

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Stadiums have been forced to adapt during the pandemic, from being out of use during shutdowns to hosting matches without fans to now introducing new procedures and innovations allowing fans to attend matches safely.

Aderassa Sports & Entertainment specialise in advising sports venue owners and operators.

CEO of Aderassa, Oliver Mazé told TheStadiumBusiness.com the business models for stadiums have changed due to COVID-19.

“Stadia and arenas are facing, and will face, two real challenges. Firstly, how to keep venues safe for attendees. If venues are not safe enough for attendance at least until 2022, authorities should not authorise them to be open,” Mazé said.

“In terms of attracting attendees, this pandemic is a real trauma for all of us and will leave a footprint in our mind for decades. The fear of crowds will be in our minds for a long time, because nobody can guarantee it will be gone forever. We need to live with the virus and provide the safest places as possible, and communicate this to show attendees they can come, enjoy and be safe.”

There are several areas in which stadiums have adapted and will continue to be managed during the pandemic and into the future.

Hygiene

Stadiums have moved to becoming contact free – contactless payment at food and merchandise stalls via tap and go has become the norm during the pandemic. Online ordering of food and beverages is another innovation which has become important, allowing for people to order their food whilst avoiding large crowds at stalls.

At some stadiums, contactless technologies are being introduced for doors and bathrooms.

The installation of hygiene stations with sanitiser also help to keep fans and safe and minimise the spread of infection.

Chief Technology Officer of Los Angeles FC, Christian Lau recently spoke to fcbusiness of the technology innovations at the Banc of California Stadium

“Coming into the stadium, we’re installing new access controls via our partner Axess Control based out of Austria. We’ll be adding a thermal scanner to check people’s temperature along with mask detection,” Lau said.

“So upon arrival visitors will have their ticket scanned, temperature checked and checked if they have a mask on before the turnstile opens up.”

Ticketing

Michal Pyda is the Business Development Executive at Roboticket. In fcbusiness, he spoke of how the company is working to provide ticketing solutions.

“Pre-COVID, the normal situation is to maximise attendance whilst minimising the gaps between fans sitting together, so we already had the mechanisms to keep people sitting tight on the stands. In order to create an automatic buffer between each transaction we implemented a reverse version of the algorithm covering complex geometrical models allowing us to shape any buffer around each transaction,” Pyda said.

“Crucially, this mechanism is flexible so it can be adapted to work around any changes to social distancing rules that are created by law or the FA. This customisation is also required to be adaptable to the individual requirements across different territories. Today we may have a two-metre separation rule but tomorrow it might be one metre so the mechanism needs to be flexible.”

COVID-19 has also increased the use of mobile ticketing. Research completed by Juniper Research last year suggested that there will be a 64% increase to $23 billion in spending on mobile tickets for sporting events by 2023. This will be a major increase from $14 billion in 2019.

Staggered entry and exit times will also become common to avoid large crowds gathering at gates outside games, this also helps to spread the times at which people access public transport to get to and from matches.

Digitalisation

Managing director of Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) for stadium architect Populous, Christopher Lee told SportsPro in May that there is potential for the in stadium experience to be recreated virtually.

“We’re anticipating the integration of some kind of remote audience, whether that’s VR (virtual reality), how they’re portrayed in-bowl itself,” Lee said.

“If you look at any of the big clubs, Manchester United, they’ll get a couple of million people physically through their doors [per season], but social media says they have 650 million fans around the world. A reasonable percentage will watch a game live somewhere, and it’s how you then bring that remote audience into a live stadium audience – so using screens and boards – and I think you’ll see more of that.

“We will see more sophisticated ways of watching your favourite team, whether it’s using VR, or AR [augmented reality]…and having that represented in the stadium. I think that is something that will stay much longer than just to do with Covid.”

Digital screens around the ground and scoreboards are being used to provide alerts and to remind fans of social distancing regulations that they need to follow.

Some football leagues are already using facial recognition technology, Serie A have previously used the technology to identity fans who are responsible for racist behaviour at matches.

Artificial intelligence and facial recognition can be used to monitor crowds at concession stands or look back and identity who has come into contact with a positive COVID case.

“There are more sophisticated versions that also add a track and trace overlay on top of that, so it tells you if you’re within two metres or eventually if you’ve been in contact with someone who has been diagnosed with the virus. [There is also] a lot of work on robots linked to CCTV cameras and central command posts where they can enforce social distancing,” Lee said.

Football Australia and stadium management will be looking to introduce as many of these innovations as possible to allow spectators to attend matches while ensuring the safety of those fans who do attend matches.

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“20 Years Ahead”: The System Quietly Reshaping Korean Football

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Image Credit: Goal.com / Getty Images

For all its consistency, Korean football has long carried an underlying tension.

On paper, it works. The national teams remain competitive, the player pool is technically sound, and the country continues to produce athletes capable of performing on the continental stage. But beneath that surface-level success, a more uncomfortable question has persisted about whether Korea has been simply maintaining its position while others evolve.

That question has driven the Korea Football Association (KFA) toward one of the most ambitious structural overhauls in modern football development: the Made in Korea (MIK) Project. Rather than focusing on short-term gains or isolated improvements, the initiative attempts to do something far more complex. It is rebuilding the foundations of how football is taught, understood and executed across the entire ecosystem.

Internally, the project has been described as having “brought Korean football 20 years ahead.” Whether that claim ultimately proves accurate remains to be seen, but what is already clear is the scale of the shift taking place.

From talent to system

The starting point was not talent, but structure. For years, concerns had been growing within Korean football circles about a lack of uniqueness in players, inconsistencies in long-term planning and an over-reliance on safe, risk-averse styles of play. The system, while producing disciplined and technically capable footballers, was not consistently producing players equipped to thrive in the most demanding environments. Environments such as Europe, where tempo, decision-making speed and adaptability define success.

Rather than attempting to patch these issues, the KFA chose to reimagine the system itself.

At the core of the MIK Project is the idea that high performance is not the result of individual excellence alone, but of an interconnected structure that allows that excellence to emerge consistently. Coaching, sports science, performance analysis, leadership and education are no longer treated as separate pillars, but as components of a single, integrated system designed to evolve continuously.

A new operating model

This philosophy is most clearly expressed through the project’s adoption of a cell-based operating model. In place of traditional hierarchies, the system is organised into small, cross-functional units, called “cells”. These cells are given autonomy over their work while remaining connected through shared frameworks and objectives. Each unit is responsible not only for delivery, but for learning, adapting and refining its approach on a constant cycle.

The intention is to bring decision-making closer to the pitch, allowing those working directly with players to respond faster and more effectively to the realities of the game. In an environment where marginal gains are often decisive, that speed of adaptation can be critical.

Closing the gap

Yet structure alone is not enough. The project is equally shaped by a clear-eyed assessment of where Korean football currently stands in relation to the world’s elite.

Comparative analysis has highlighted several consistent gaps: technical execution under pressure, the ability to operate at higher game speeds and effectiveness in decisive moments such as one-on-one situations. These are not deficiencies of talent, but of context. Korean players, while highly capable, have often developed within systems that prioritise control and precision over risk and spontaneity.

The consequence is a style that can become predictable under pressure.

Training for reality

To address this, the MIK Project has fundamentally shifted training methodology. Sessions are increasingly designed to replicate the intensity and unpredictability of real matches, placing players in situations where decisions must be made quickly, under pressure, and often in confined spaces. The focus is no longer on rehearsing ideal scenarios, but on preparing players for imperfect ones.

This approach reflects a broader philosophical shift that prioritises adaptability over perfection, and decision-making over repetition.

Evolving the Korean identity

Importantly, this evolution does not come at the expense of Korea’s existing strengths. Discipline, work ethic and technical proficiency remain central to the national identity. What the MIK Project seeks to do is build upon those foundations, combining them with the creativity, speed, and tactical awareness required at the highest level of the game.

It is, in many ways, an attempt to reconcile tradition with modernity.

A global ambition

The ambition underpinning the project is unmistakable. The KFA is not simply aiming to remain competitive within Asia, but to re-establish itself among the world’s leading football nations. That means producing players capable of not only reaching Europe, but succeeding there.

More than a project

What makes the MIK Project particularly compelling is that it does not present itself as a finished solution. Instead, it is designed as a system that evolves, adjusts and refines itself over time. In a sport where trends shift rapidly and competitive edges are constantly eroded, that capacity for continuous development may prove more valuable than any single innovation.

For other football nations, Korea’s approach offers an instructive case study. While many federations continue to debate philosophical direction, the KFA has committed to structural transformation, embedding its ideas not only in theory, but in practice.

Whether the project ultimately delivers on its boldest ambitions will depend on time, execution, and the unpredictable nature of the game itself. But one thing is already evident.

Korean football is no longer standing still.

Stop Complaining, Start Building: Why Proactive Clubs Always Win

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Image Credit: Connelly Project Resources

It’s a tale as old as time in grassroots sport: your club is stuck in a “time warp” facility, sharing a severely overused pitch with another code, while a club a few suburbs over just scored millions of dollars in council funding.

It is incredibly frustrating. The disparity in local government funding, the draconian facility-sharing arrangements, and the feeling that your sport is constantly fighting an uphill battle in certain heartlands can make committee members want to throw their hands in the air.

But when faced with this reality, your club has a choice. You can go on a rampage of advocacy – bitching, moaning, and focusing on everything the council or state sporting body isn’t doing – or, you can focus on what you can control.

The Post-COVID Divide

Think back to the clubs that emerged from the COVID-19 lockdowns. During that time, every club faced the exact same external restriction: nobody could play.

However, two distinct types of clubs emerged.

The first type went dark. They complained about the government, complained about the lack of support from their Peak Bodies, and disconnected from their members. They took years to recover.

The second type of club stayed connected. They acknowledged the reality but focused entirely on what they could do. They posted backyard drills on TikTok, sent training plans to parents, and kept their community engaged. As soon as restrictions lifted, they were on the front foot, miles ahead of the competition. Same environment, entirely different mindset.

The Circle of Control

In business and in sport, there is a circle of concern (things you care about but can’t change) and a much smaller circle of control (your own thoughts, behaviours, and operations).

If you have signed a 10-year lease on a substandard facility, that is your playing field. You aren’t going to change it tomorrow. So, how can you win given the rules you have?

·  Run a tight ship financially.

·  Pay your rent on time.

·  Communicate brilliantly with your members.

·  Streamline your governance.

Government likes to back a winner. If you spend your time spinning up the flywheels of good marketing, membership growth, and volunteer connection, you build a small business that clearly has its act together. When it comes time to advocate for better facilities, you aren’t just a complaining club—you are a highly successful, proactive community asset that councils will want to support.

Is your club stuck in a cycle of complaining? It’s time to take control of what you can. Contact CPR Group today to find out how our clubMENTOR program and strategic planning services can put your club on the front foot.

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