We’ve all been talking about AI for a while now. It’s in your feed, your inbox, your spam folder — and, almost certainly, somewhere in your organization.
But here’s the real question: Do you actually have an AI strategy?
Not just something for fan engagement. Not a scouting tool. Not a dashboard that claims to shave 0.3% off hamstring injuries. We mean something bigger, holistic and thought through, for your people, your processes, and your principles.
There’s now AI for nearly everything (match analysis, talent ID, content generation, training loads) and many are charging ahead. Done correctly, this is great provided first pause and ask the harder, messier, riskier questions?
Questions like:
- Who owns the data on which your AI relies?
- Can you explain the decisions it makes?
- What happens when it gets it wrong – and who’s accountable?
I spent years in reputation crisis management. The pattern was always the same: about 50% of organizations had a plan. Fewer than 5% had ever tested it. Just 1% updated it regularly. We’re probably not even that far along when it comes to AI.
And sport? Sport is especially exposed. One flawed dataset and you could be staring at skewed team selections, a marketing campaign that reinforces bias, or a major opportunity missed because “the system said no.”
AI can already churn out match previews, performance reports, and branded fan content – with or without your involvement. Is that a gain in efficiency or a loss of control?
Then there’s athlete data. Biometric and behavioural insights are being captured around the clock, often passively. Is your organization managing that data transparently? Are you planning to monetise it? How are you splitting that revenue – and have the lawyers had a look?
Meanwhile, AI is quietly redrawing your workforce. Ticketing, comms, logistics, officiating – nothing’s off-limits. Are you reskilling your people or replacing them? Is HR even in the loop?
Here’s the rub: most sports organizations are still treating AI like a shiny bolt-on. Something for the innovation team to tinker with. But this isn’t a plug-in. It’s a paradigm shift.
AI touches governance, strategy, ethics and trust. If your board isn’t talking about it, they should be.
So next time someone pitches you an “AI-powered, data-led, performance-redefining” wonder-tool, don’t just ask what it can do.
Ask what it might undo — and whether you’re ready for that.
Then ask the question too many still haven’t: What’s our AI strategy?
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