5 Sports Industry Trends for 2020 | OneFootball

Football is returning, and for those that like a punt it could not have come sooner. For most punters betting comes from the gut, based on instinct, that is one way of doing it, sports betting online previews forecasts are towards the other end of the spectrum and that is why it is important to look at trends and analytics if you really want to make your betting pay.

Trends are important and here I list five sports trends that I believe are important to consider when one wants to have a bet, small or large.

Data

Data is everywhere, whether it is football, cricket, baseball, NFL, it really does not matter, data rules the roost and is becoming more prevalent.

For example, after every football match you are presented with a mass of data, how many corners, how many bookings, how many assists, what areas had the most action and so forth. In fact, ever since the film Moneyball there has been a surge in Expected Goals (xG) as a critical component in analysing future games.

Data is massive and software is now required to analyse that data.

Digital sports

Another trend I see happening is Esports, it is becoming more and more popular and with sport being suspended worldwide it was no surprise to see Esports grow even bigger.

It is being taken so serious that you get a situation were Formula E’s Daniel Abt representing Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler racing team got sacked for cheating while playing in a digital Formula 1 race.

Women’s sports

This is a trend that cannot and will not be curtailed, whether it is female Basketball in the United States or women’s football, it is growing in popularity and rightfully so.

The last women’s football world cup was a huge success, the ladies are huge in UFC and they are penetrating the ceiling in nearly every single sport that was once totally dominated by men.

Fan interaction

Fans have been treated dreadfully for quite some time now, they have been used as commodities to milk as much money from them as possible. But, it is a well known fact, that all sports need their fans desperately to be able to sell their products. In fact sports teams worldwide are looking at how to include fans when they are physically not able to attend events shows, in a digital world that is something that can be organized, it will be interesting to see how they do it.

Economic pragmatism

Ridiculous salaries, massive transfer fees, high ticket prices will never be a thing of the past but the trend is that some pragmatism is taking hold.

Broadcasters have agreed for some events to be free to air, season ticket prices are being frozen or refunded, lower football transfer fees are expected, clubs are baulking at paying ludicrous wages, and that is just the start.

Sporting authorities know that the way sports teams have operated financially is untenable long term and teams do appear to have clicked on to this as well.

These five sporting trends will help when it comes to ones betting, understanding data is a basic, looking at opportunities in women’s sport and esports opens up many opportunities, taking on board how the economics affect a particular team or participant and evaluating the effects of fan interaction are all trends that one can use to their advantage.