More and more football fans are now tuning into games in the Premier League, Champions League, and beyond via their smartphones.
For a few years now, the numbers of fans accessing live football on their mobiles has gone up and up, with broadcasters adjusting accordingly.
The Sky Sports app is now a popular way to follow live football games, while the BBC Sport app had enormous engagement with live clips and highlights during the World Cup this summer.
Modern life is fast-paced, with people often commuting long distances, and international travel has never been cheaper or more convenient, so it makes sense that fans are making use of the option to follow football even if it means watching on a smaller screen.
For supporters who go abroad a lot, an iPhone-compatible VPN can also be useful when accessing services on a mobile device, though fans should always check the terms and conditions of the relevant streaming service.
When sporting events clash
Another reason fans might want to use their mobile to follow games is when sporting events clash, such as the World Cup and Wimbledon during the summer.
See below for an image of a fan at Wimbledon this summer who also wanted to make sure they kept up with the action in the World Cup clash between England and DR Congo…
This seems like another intriguing development to keep an eye on – with more and more sports these days, sometimes with clashing schedules, it is surely going to become more and more of a feature of modern life that fans will watch one game live whilst also keeping one eye on another one on their device at the same time.
Fans still crave live sport
Most polling shows, however, that fans ultimately still favour the chance to watch live sport if possible, as they cite the atmosphere and social side of things as making a big difference to their enjoyment.
According to research reported by Samsung earlier this year: “The desire for community remains strong. Most fans watch major tournaments together whether at home with family (54%), with friends (30%), or at a pub (41%).”
So phones won’t be replacing the real thing any time soon, but the convenience of the technology at our fingertips now means there’s also no need to miss out if you couldn’t make it to the game or don’t happen to be near a TV screen.
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