{"id":81387,"date":"2026-09-16T15:24:34","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T14:24:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/?p=81387"},"modified":"2026-09-16T15:24:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T14:24:35","slug":"connecting-the-future-of-sport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/2026\/09\/16\/connecting-the-future-of-sport\/","title":{"rendered":"Connecting the future of sport"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

As Saudi Arabia and Africa invest in next-generation sports and entertainment infrastructure, networking is becoming central to the fan experience and the commercial success of venues. HPE Networking is drawing on its experience at major global sporting destinations to help stadiums deliver seamless connectivity, intelligent operations and new digital revenue opportunities. Jacob Chacko, Regional Director for the Middle East and Africa at HPE Networking, discusses the growing opportunities across the region and how intelligent network infrastructure is shaping the stadiums of the future.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sports and entertainment has become an important vertical for HPE Networking globally. How significant is this opportunity in Saudi Arabia and Africa, and where are you seeing the strongest demand?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sports and entertainment is a significant growth opportunity for HPE Networking, particularly as venues evolve into digitally connected destinations that must support thousands of users, critical operations and increasingly sophisticated fan experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our global experience demonstrates the importance of this vertical. At the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026<\/a>, HPE Networking supported one of the most geographically complex Olympic networks ever built, using AI-native technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HPE Networking continues to earn the trust of similar leading sports and entertainment venues worldwide, delivering impactful outcomes and ensuring continuous innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saudi Arabia represents one of the strongest opportunities. The Kingdom is investing more than US$20 billion across 15 stadiums , alongside major entertainment destinations such as Qiddiya, which require always-on, high-density connectivity. This investment is closely aligned with Saudi Vision 2030 and the country\u2019s ambition to attract 150 million annual visitors by 2030. Arab News<\/a> has reported that visitor numbers reached 122 million in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Africa is also presenting substantial opportunities. Morocco\u2019s preparations for major sports events are driving more than US$3 billion in infrastructure investment across six new and refurbished stadiums, according to MIPA<\/a>. HPE Networking has secured networking projects at two of these stadiums and is actively pursuing further opportunities. Together, these developments demonstrate how sports infrastructure is becoming a strategic investment in connectivity, tourism and the wider digital economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in stadiums, entertainment destinations and tourism infrastructure. What role does networking play in delivering the kind of digital fan experience these new venues are expected to provide?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The network is the invisible foundation of the modern fan experience. Every fan-facing technology, from mobile applications and IPTV to wayfinding, digital payments and in-seat services, depends on reliable, high-performance connectivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a venue with 90,000 spectators, the network must be capable of supporting thousands of people streaming, sharing content and making transactions simultaneously. It must also provide the resilience and performance required for operational systems that cannot afford disruption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI and analytics add another dimension by enabling venues to understand fan behaviour and deliver more personalised experiences. Location and spatial intelligence can support seamless navigation, reduce congestion and help optimise dwell time across the venue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The network is therefore no longer simply a back-of-house utility. It is part of the product that the venue delivers. Before the game, it supports e-ticketing, transport management and admission queues. During the event, it enables wayfinding, in-seat food and beverage ordering and personalised digital signage. After the game, it can assist with vehicle location and continued engagement with fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result is a connected experience that extends well beyond the match itself, while creating opportunities for venues to improve efficiency and generate additional revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does the stadium of the future look like from a networking perspective, particularly as venues embrace Wi-Fi 7, private 5G, AI, IoT and real-time analytics?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stadium of the future will be built around an intelligent, highly integrated network capable of supporting both exceptional fan experiences and mission-critical operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wi-Fi 7 will play an important role in delivering multi-gigabit connectivity to dense environments with large numbers of concurrent users. Private 5G will complement this by supporting operational use cases such as referee communications, security, logistics and broadcast services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI-driven network management will become increasingly important. Capabilities such as self-healing, predictive capacity allocation and real-time anomaly detection will help operators maintain performance and respond to issues before they affect the experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IoT will also extend across the venue, connecting systems in seating areas, concourses, car parks and perimeter security. This creates a more comprehensive view of how the stadium is operating and how people are moving through it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Real-time analytics can then transform the network into a commercial engine. By understanding fan behaviour across different touchpoints, venues can personalise offers, optimise pricing and measure revenue per fan. The network becomes a platform for both operational intelligence and commercial innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Africa presents a very different opportunity, with significant investment in sports infrastructure but varying levels of connectivity and digital maturity. How does your approach differ across African markets?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our approach is based on the principle that fan experience standards should be universal. Whether someone is attending an event in Riyadh or Casablanca, they expect seamless connectivity, real-time content and frictionless transactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although African markets differ geographically and in their levels of digital maturity, the underlying technology and infrastructure requirements remain the same. Venues still need reliable, secure and high-performance networks capable of supporting large audiences and modern digital services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The objective is therefore to deliver the same quality of connected experience while ensuring that the network architecture supports the specific requirements of each venue and its operating environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many stadiums are increasingly becoming year-round entertainment and commercial destinations rather than facilities used only on match days. How does that change the technology and network architecture required?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The traditional approach of designing a network primarily around match-day peaks is no longer sufficient. Modern venues must support concerts, conferences, e-sports, retail, food and beverage services and other activities throughout the year, often simultaneously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This requires a more flexible and programmable architecture. Multi-tenancy becomes particularly important because different operators, promoters and tenants may need their own segmented, secure network access while sharing the same underlying infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Always-on connectivity also supports revenue-generating services such as digital advertising, data analytics and loyalty programmes. These capabilities depend on a network that can adapt to different event types and changing commercial requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, the stadium network must become as adaptable as the venue itself, supporting new experiences, new business models and year-round commercial activity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Saudi Arabia and Africa invest in next-generation sports and entertainment infrastructure, networking is becoming central to the fan experience and the commercial success of venues. HPE Networking is drawing on its experience at major global sporting destinations to help stadiums deliver seamless connectivity, intelligent operations and new digital revenue opportunities. Jacob Chacko, Regional Director […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7289,"featured_media":81389,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[399],"tags":[20665],"class_list":["post-81387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-more-news","tag-hpe-networking"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7289"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81387"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81390,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81387\/revisions\/81390"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}