AIPS / LAUSANNE: Michael Payne, former marketing director of the International Olympic Committee, used a platform at the SportAccord IF Forum to paint an unsettling picture of how “the relentless change in technology, marketing, and society will strike at the core of what sport is and what sport represents.”

Payne, chairman and ceo of Payne Sports Media Strategies, placed particular emphasis on a future that is heavily dependent on technology, where “what once seemed like science fiction will be part of everyday life” – a world where athletes train against their own superhuman adversary – a holographic pacemaker, sports equipment becomes hyper customised and drone referees officiate sports competitions.

He added: “Sport has always thrived on the unpredictable, the human, the imperfect. If AI begins to smooth out the rough edges, edit out the errors and replace human instinct with machine precision. Do we lose something essential? The biggest question is not whether AI can improve sports but whether it can do so without stealing sport’s soul.”

Payne underlined that broadcasting, which is the major cash source for most sports federations, will be in jeopardy, with fans curating their own experiences and athletes becoming their own broadcasters. He warned: “In the new media world, fragmentation is going to be fatal.”

He also highlighted a deeper and more disruptive force that’s challenging the essence of sport: “The political use of sport as a tool of influence and confrontation is no longer rare or incidental. It is becoming more deliberate, more strategic, and far more visible on the global stage. I mean, sport is an easy and tempting target. It’s built on passion and identity, the very same ingredients that are fuelling political extremism.”

Hence Payne urged the sports leaders in the room to take charge of building the future of sport, saying: “You will be pressurised to innovate, to digitalise, to personalise. If you don’t, you will risk being left behind unless you offer rich digital rights, immersive fan engagement and a credible sustainability plan. And the competition is not just about sports.”

He added: “The future of sport will be faster, more intelligent, more connected, and more complicated. It will dazzle and distract in equal measure. It will offer more access, insight, interaction, pressure, noise, and choices. But if you do it right, if you keep the fan at the centre, the athlete protected, the values clear, and the experience human, then sport’s best days may still lie ahead.”

Address excerpt:

The old idea of sport, communal, local, appointment-based, built on geography, built on broadcast schedules and tradition, is fading. And fading fast. What’s replacing it is faster, louder, more personalised, and infinitely less predictable.

So, we have to ask, what does it mean to be a fan when your algorithm knows you better than you know your hometown team? What does it mean when loyalty is shaped less by geography and more by what your feed serves you next? What does it mean when you can watch 40 angles of a goal in 4 seconds but can’t remember the score 5 minutes later?

What does it mean to be an athlete when you’re no longer judged by how you perform, but how well you monetise, post, and create content in an ecosystem that tracks every move? What does it mean to manage a sport or a league where your competition isn’t just other leagues, but Netflix, TikTok, and whatever digital distraction is grabbing attention that week?

The future of sport is not going to knock politely at the door. It is going to crash through that door, change the locks, and redecorate. And if we don’t know what’s worth defending, we risk losing not just what sport looks like, but why it even matters.

Will records keep breaking? Of course they will. But how will we reconcile the pace of scientific progress with the ethics of fair play?

We’re only beginning to grasp the impact of gene editing, regenerative medicine, and biomechanical engineering. And if doping shook our senses of integrity, what happens when the enhancements are undetectable or legal? And if doping remains a threat, match-fixing may be an even greater danger. As sports betting surges worldwide, so too does the opportunity for manipulation. Just look at what happened last week with the NBA. Integrity may be sport’s most precious and fragile asset.

Then there’s the climate. Where will we be able to play when heatwaves, floods, and wildfires reshape the global sporting calendar? How will we design the infrastructure of tomorrow’s sport in a world where seasons and coastlines are shifting?

Technology has always shaped the field of play, but artificial intelligence could reshape everything. From coaching decisions to ticketing and tactical analytics, AI will impact every layer of the sports industry. But what happens when fans become co-creators? When they can remix, reframe, even simulate the game itself? What happens when the content is no longer controlled by the leagues but crowdsourced from the audience? And what of sponsorship? Sport has always been one of the most powerful brand platforms.

Consumer behaviour is changing faster than 100 metres. Traditional models are wobbling. So what does the next era of partnerships look like? The truth is we’re entering a world where the fan has more power than ever. They can curate their own experience, bypass official channels, and engage on their own terms. In that world, what’s the role of the athlete, the role of the league, the federation, the brand, the rights holder? So the real question is not what is the future of sport? The actual question is what do we, you, want it to be? And finally, are you brave enough to build it?

Michael Payne shares his predictions for sport’s next half century in his upcoming book Fast Tracks and Dark Deals.

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