From mobile apps to VR coaching, sport is being reshaped by gaming logic — and fans are no longer just watching from the sidelines.
For much of the last century, access to sport has often been limited by cost, geography or infrastructure. Golf is one example. While it has a global audience, the actual playing experience has remained hard to organise and largely unchanged for recreational groups.
That gap is now being narrowed by digital tools. A growing number of apps are helping people interact with sport in more accessible and flexible ways. These tools combine live data, social features and game mechanics to give users more control over how they play and follow sport.
ParUp Golf, launched this month on iOS and Android, is the latest to enter the space. Developed by The Unit, an Ireland-based studio which works across sports betting and gaming, the app allows users to schedule golf days, track real-time scores, and compete in team or side games. A social betting feature is set to follow in a future update.
Ian Lowther said: “We have launched ParUp Golf with the aim of making recreational group golf easier to manage and more fun to play. By partnering with The Unit, we have given ourselves the best possible chance of success.
“The technology provided by The Unit allows ParUp to create and maintain a more inclusive, more interactive, and more memorable golfing journey – via high-quality, easy-to-use reliable tech.
As more people turn to mobile platforms to organise or participate in sport, apps like ParUp Golf reflect a broader trend: gaming is no longer just a form of entertainment. Instead it is becoming a design model for how sport is structured, played and experienced.
Mobile app fan engagement reimagined
As mobile platforms become central to how people experience sport, fan engagement is being shaped less by passive viewing and more by participation. Gaming-style apps are giving fans new ways to follow teams, track stats, and compete with friends in digital environments that mirror the dynamics of live sport.
One of the most successful examples is Fantasy Premier League. With more than 11 million active users, the official fantasy game of the Premier League encourages fans to build virtual squads based on real players and compete for weekly and season-long rankings. The format rewards knowledge, strategy and attention to detail, turning each matchday into a personal contest.
In an interview with the FT, Alexandra Willis, director of digital media at the Premier League, explains its impact: “Fantasy Premier League is often the first touchpoint into engaging with us directly. People then go on to be immersed in our match day live experience … they develop an affinity with a particular club.”
Other leagues have followed a similar approach. The NBA has launched interactive apps with augmented reality features and in-game quizzes aimed at younger fans. Teams including the Golden State Warriors and Chicago Bulls have developed mobile experiences that include predictive games, trivia, and live polling, designed to be used in the arena or at home.
Commercially, these features create new opportunities for brands and rights holders. Gamified apps increase screen time, build user data profiles, and allow for the integration of advertising or sponsorship in non-intrusive ways. In football, clubs like FC Barcelona and Manchester City have launched branded mini-games through their own channels to strengthen ties with international fan bases.
The Barça Games launch was held on July 24, 2024, on the FC Barcelona grounds, and was also broadcast live on Barça One. President of FC Barcelona, Joan Laporta, highlighted that the creation of Barça Games “is part of the club’s clear commitment to the digital realm, which is so essential for our future strategy.”
“Last April, the club’s new streaming platform, Barça One, was presented, and three months later, we launched Barça Games … Our ambition is to continue being leaders in the face of new opportunities and to promote the construction of the Barça Digital Space, grouping all our fans around the world in the same digital community and also reinforcing their sense of belonging to FC Barcelona”.
The popularity of these formats shows how user expectations have shifted. Sport is no longer only about watching or attending. Fans increasingly expect to interact, track, and compete. Platforms that offer these experiences have become valuable digital assets for teams and leagues.
When real athletes go virtual
As clubs and leagues expand their digital reach, many are borrowing directly from the structure and style of esports. Competitive gaming now plays a growing role in how traditional sports organisations engage with fans and develop brand identity.
Some of the most ambitious efforts come from football. Manchester City partnered with Sony’s FavoriteSpace in 2024 to launch the Virtual Etihad Stadium, a 3D fan experience featuring live match content, challenges and avatar-based social interaction. Users can create a custom character, take part in daily trivia or games, and even earn digital merchandise.
Additional partnerships with platforms such as HiberWorld have allowed fans to use branded City avatar skins in virtual environments.
The crossover is not limited to fan apps. During the pandemic, many professional athletes began competing in or promoting esports tournaments. Formula 1, for example, launched a virtual Grand Prix series in 2020 that included drivers such as George Russell and Charles Leclerc. In the NBA, players like Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton took part in the NBA 2K Players Tournament, streamed live during the league shutdown.
This convergence has influenced the design of new sports platforms. They borrow the logic of esports – live stats, competition structures, real-time progression – and apply it to both digital and physical formats.
For amateur sport, that influence is now visible in apps such as ParUp Golf, where users compete in side games and track leaderboards in real time. The upcoming addition of peer-to-peer betting also reflects the casual, social wagering found in many competitive gaming communities.
From VR to gamified coaching
While fans are using gaming-style apps to stay connected to sport, athletes are using similar tools to improve how they train.These platforms offer a way to develop physical and cognitive skills through interactive tasks and real-time feedback.
STRIVR, a virtual reality training tool originally developed at Stanford University, is one example. It has been used by several NFL teams, including the Dallas Cowboys, to help quarterbacks read defences and make quicker decisions. Instead of running live drills on the training ground, players can review scenarios in headset-based simulations.
In football, Rezzil has become a popular tool for clubs looking to add a data layer to technical training. Used by teams within the Premier League, the system provides virtual drills that test a player’s passing, positioning and reaction speed. Players wear a VR headset and complete exercises that are tracked and assessed digitally.
“Rezzil are highly respected in the field and have developed an excellent reputation with training products that are being used by many Premier League clubs alongside leading sports teams and leagues around the world,” said Will Brass, the Premier League’s Chief Commercial Officer.
“The applications for this technology are expanding quickly and this partnership will see the Premier League working with Rezzil on products that can help redefine player, fan and viewer experiences.”
Cognitive training has also become more gamified. NeuroTracker, which creates three-dimensional visual tasks to improve focus and spatial awareness, has been adopted by athletes across NBA and NHL clubs, among others. Players are shown moving objects on a screen and asked to follow specific targets, helping them build sharper attention during high-speed games.
“You’re looking at so many different things, you have to use your peripherals, you have to keep track of so many different aspects that it really does mimic kind of the play in front of you as a goalie,” says Daniel Dubois, a former ice hockey coach at the Clarence JrB Beavers.
“The neurotracker allows us to… bring in the information a whole lot quicker” and helps goalies “start reading plays.”
Even physical drills have been adapted. Tools like Blazepod, which use flashing lights as part of agility and reflex routines, are now common in training sessions across football, rugby and tennis. These drills turn reaction tests into time-based challenges, adding a competitive and visual element to exercises that were once repetitive.
These platforms are designed for professionals but reflect a wider pattern. Recreational players are also using apps to track progress, analyse performance and increase motivation.
What happens when every game becomes a platform?
As more sports adopt the structure of games and more games take cues from sport, the boundaries between the two are narrowing. This raises new questions. What responsibilities do creators have when designing competitive environments for fans? How do we define fairness, ownership or identity in digital sport spaces? And who gets to shape the rules when traditional formats meet game-based logic?
For developers, teams and players, these are not theoretical questions. They will influence everything from platform design and data use to regulation and monetisation.
The launch of apps like ParUp Golf shows how quickly these ideas are moving from elite systems to everyday sport. The challenge now is not just how to innovate, but how to do so in a way that keeps sport inclusive, meaningful and fun.
