AI has blown up since the last World Cup in 2022, and it’s likely to have a major impact on the next tournament in 2026. There’s always a lot of hype around the ultimate football competition, but now the content around it could be better than ever.
The technology has the potential to predict what people want to view and show them videos that are optimized to generate hype for the game among massive swathes of people. It’s also likely that this hype will spread out into other areas of entertainment, ensuring as many people as possible catch the World Cup fever.
Predictive Content and Personalized Highlights
Social media has already had a major impact on the last few World Cups, and a lot of people have found themselves getting hyped up through content that they’ve discovered on sites like Instagram and TikTok. The algorithms on these pages have always been geared to show people what they want, but AI is now targeting people even more effectively.
Along with users getting the videos that are most likely to appeal to them, they could also receive AI-driven predictive content that includes real-time stats and tactical data. AI may be used to generate match previews that appeal to different people. For example, more numbers-focused users could get information that’s packed with stats while story lovers will be told more about the narrative of the games such as key battles to watch out for.
AI could also be used to generate personalized highlights, geared towards different fans. For casuals, this may come in the form of short videos with key moments. For more diehard fans, there could be more detailed footage accompanied by tactical insights.
World Cup Hype Will Likely Spread Out Into Entertainment
The entertainment industry has continued to expand since the last World Cup as well, and this represents another area that can show off the magic of the tournament. AI could help raise awareness of the competition and then lead more people to seek out World Cup-themed entertainment options.
In recent times, football documentaries have boomed in popularity, and it would make a lot of sense for a company like Amazon or Netflix to produce some content around the competition. Welcome to Wrexham is now the benchmark for this type of docuseries, and different countries could use this model to tell their own stories as they progress through the tournament.
The online casino industry could be another place to find some World Cup-themed options, which could also help boost the hype train. Football games are already hugely prominent in the online casino UK market, spanning titles such as Football Finals Xup, Football French Roulette, and Football! Cash Collect, each offering something different while all maintaining that essential football iconography at their core. There’s also always the likelihood that official World Cup-branded games could be developed in the leadup to the tournament.
It certainly looks like we’re about to enter a new era for World Cup hype, with AI driving even more attention to the tournament in a myriad of different ways. This increased interest is likely to lead to more entertainment offerings based around the competition across different platforms, encompassing everything from special television series to games, which will in turn generate hype of its own.
All of this is to show that the World Cup continues to prove mutually beneficial for a range of different parties year-on-year, and, with all the new tools available to marketers and developers, this year is unlikely to be the exception.
