The potential of blockchain technology in the sports industry

Could the use of blockchain by British Cycling's record keeping department have cleared up, quickly and authoritatively, the question of what was in the package delivered to Sir Bradley Wiggins at the 2011 Creterium du Daphine and why?

How about using blockchain to track performance data to formulate an effective training plan for athletes? Or for administering a sports club's fan loyalty scheme to maximise fan engagement?

Blockchain is a buzz word in the financial sector now, but the sporting world should also be alive to its potential.

This article examines how blockchain technology is being, and could in future be, exploited in the sphere of sport and considers some of the risks for such innovation. Specifically, it looks at:

• What is blockchain and how does it work? 
  
  
• Potential opportunities for blockchain technology in sport
  • Anti-doping
  • Cultivation and utilisation of big data (e.g. for event results, individual player history and performance statistics)
  • Fan engagement (e.g. club-specific virtual currencies/tokens, and loyalty schemes)
  • Sports rights management and asset tracking (e.g. rights holders tracking rights they have licensed, and registering valuable sports memorabilia) 
    
    
• Risks and author’s comments