Sports industry to get match fit for AI adoption

Samantha Livesey, technology contracts expert at Pinsent Masons, warned that sporting bodies looking to employ AI without proper processes in place could be at increased risk of misuse of data and regulatory compliance issues.

Writing for the SportBusiness Tech newsletter, Livesey said: “As sporting organisations embrace AI to gain competitive and operational advantages, they also face a complex array of risks that, if left unmanaged, could undermine athlete welfare, data integrity, and organisational reputation.

“Unlike traditional technology deployments, AI introduces dynamic challenges: it learns from data, evolves over time, and often operates in opaque ways. This makes risk management not just a technical necessity but a strategic imperative.

“For sporting organisations — where fairness, trust, and compliance are paramount — understanding and mitigating these risks is essential to harnessing AI responsibly.”

The boom in AI has led organisations to start looking at new ways it can be employed within sport including to enable time and efficiency savings, and to secure competitive advantages over rivals through data analysis.

Already valued at more than $2.2 billion, the financial value of the sport AI industry is expected to  soar to $30bn a year by 2032, an increase driven by much wider adoption of the technologies across leagues and organisations.

AI already has a wide range of use cases in sport from reputation management – scouring social media output from athletes, organisations and fans alike for derogatory comments and abuse – to talent scouting, training and performance monitoring.  Even sports broadcasting is looking to AI tools to help direct output for camera angles and in-play statistics for commentators.

Livesey warned: “With innovation comes responsibility. The risks associated with AI are not hypothetical; they are real, multifaceted, and increasingly scrutinised by regulators, athletes, and the public.”