Best Sports App Ideas & Trends For Sports Industry

Sports is a billion-dollar industry with people all across the globe being crazy for different sports like soccer, cricket, tennis, rugby, baseball, and basketball. As you head to the Apple app store and Google play store, you will be surprised by the number of sports apps present there. Suh is the craze, which makes it evident that various sports enjoy a huge fan base, and it is an excellent idea for businesses to invest in a sports app. Despite the huge competition present in the sports industry, there is also scope for an app that offers something unique from the others. 

If you are in a dilemma over what kind of sports app to create for your startup, do not worry, as, in this article, we have provided a number of sports app ideas for your business. 

Sports App Market Size & Statistics 

If the report from CBS News is to believe, 56 percent of the Americans are sports enthusiasts. 50 percent of the world’s population enjoys some kind of sport, be it soccer, cricket, basketball, baseball, tennis, golf, or some other sport. Stats reveal that Soccer itself has a fanbase of 4 billion across the globe as a sport. 

Also, in recent years, people’s way of watching sports has changed a lot as smartphones and tablets have widely replaced television screens. As per eMarketer, 70.3 percent of U.S. adults also use a second screen as they watch sports on TV. 

With each year, the number of people who watch sports on TV and use their smartphones is rising by 4 percent, and very soon, it is going to be reaching 200 million. Among these people, around 70 percent of the browser content is related to games, and many people also use the second screen to further engage in sports by getting additional information regarding teams or previous games, chatting about the games, replaying the key game moments, and even placing bets. People enjoy it when they can expand their experience of watching a sport they thoroughly enjoy. 

Some people don’t prefer TV screens anymore and stream sports directly on their smartphones. This is the reason that a number of sports organizations are integrating mobile apps into their sports strategy. People like to watch anytime, anywhere, on their mobile screens, without delay. And often, they enjoy simultaneously using multiple screens. 

Meanwhile, it is not just the sports enthusiasts, who are using the mobile apps, but people from the sports industry also like to use sports apps. With teams being always on the go, sports event organizers, coaches, and parents find apps as the best way to communicate with the athletes and manage teams. 

Here we have mentioned various kinds of sports app ideas that work for the viewers, athletes, team managers, sports organizers, and fans.

Amazing Sports App Development Ideas

So, with an increase in the most popular app downloads let’s see what sports app ideas can you use for your next project.

1. Sports Coaching & Training Apps

Such apps allow athletes to take care of their health and train their skills with the help of sports coaches, fitness trainers. The users can choose to book personal trainers or participate in Online group video training and coaching sessions at their convenience. 

Example: CoachUp, Hudl, iPractice Builder, Coach’s Eye, Sportlyzer

2. Fantasy Sports Mobile Apps

The fantasy apps are widely popular all across the globe among their followers. Here, the users assemble virtual teams of real players, and these teams compete based on the statistical performance of the players performing in actual games. The fantasy app workflow appears like this: Choose the match, and after login and verifying the OTP, users can select a match of their liking. The idea of fantasy apps allows sports enthusiasts to virtually participate in the game to create their teams, giving them the feel of contributing to the actual game they like. This is why fantasy sports apps are greatly popular among their fans.

Example: CBS Fantasy Sports, DraftKings, Draft Punk, ESPN Fantasy Sports, FanDuel

3. Live Streaming & Live Score Apps

Despite the fact that live streaming is often a part of Sports News apps, there are also Sports apps solely based on Live Streaming. Live Streaming apps allow the users to watch anything regarding their favorite teams, leagues, sports, be it actual games or training, or vlogs. These apps have many followers who remain glued to their screens; hence, they have excellent monetization potential. These apps often add a live chat feature to the app to make it more engaging for its users. The Live chat feature allows the viewers to communicate with each other and the athletes. The Live Streaming apps usually have features like High-quality Live streaming, simple UX/UI, Filters & Search for channels, and Chromecast support. 

Example: FotMob, Soccer Scores and Sports Livescore, Goal Live Scores, BeSoccer, Soccer 24 

4. Sports Betting App Development

People love watching sports, but what takes their excitement to another level is when their money is invested in it. Sports betting is quite popular and even legal in many countries. There are different forms of betting, like traditional betting taking place with one central bookmaker to betting marketplaces such as ZenSports. Today sports betting apps even use a number of business models, as some use the internal currency, some use bitcoin exchange. 

Example: Betmgm, Caesars, Betrivers, Fanduel, Pointsbet, Unibet

5. Sports League Management App

Team and League Management are providing to be quite helpful for the coaches and league team members to live an organized life and connect effectively. Usually, these apps feature information regarding team members, sports statistics, News, Scores, and chat option. Other useful features and information these League management apps have are Team Statistics, Team Schedules, Team Messaging, Live Scores, Personal event schedules, News Feed, and Rosters. As a league or a team uses these team management apps, other users like fans have no access to these apps. 

League Management apps allow the coaches to get rid of the hassle of maintaining spreadsheets & emails. The apps can manage the team way more effectively using online schedules & notifications. Apps allow the league to effectively organize matches and training sessions, invite the team members to events, analyze statistics, invite the team members to events, prepare formations and lineups before the games, and easily communicate with teammates. 

Example: Engage Sports, Sports Illustrated Play, Playyon, Sportsengine, Teamsideline.com, Leagueapps

6. Sports eCommerce Store

Essentially an e-Commerce app, these apps sell sports-related products, like sports equipment, clothes, sports food, etc., to professional players and amateurs. These apps have products catalogs, personal profiles, categories, search & filters, reviews, product pages with pictures & descriptions, favorites, shopping cart, checkout, payment gateway, etc. 

Example: Spikeball, Iaaf World Championships Hospitality, Condor Cycles, Threo, Pure Cycles

7. AR/VR Sports App

Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality are the new buzzwords in the sports app development industry. When integrated into the app, it allows delivering real-life experiences. When used in live streaming, AR & VR technology allows the users to feel like they are sitting in the stadium. 

Example: MLB At Bat, NBA AR, Vikings VR, Fox Sports VR

8. Sports Event Booking App

These apps are greatly helpful in organizing sports events as they allow users to buy online tickets, navigate using indoor & outdoor maps, order food & drinks, and participate in group activities. Highly useful for the event organizers, these event booking apps offer detailed information regarding events and feature replays and social functionalities so the users can share their experience with others on social media. The event app has features like a schedule, information about organizers & sponsors, information regarding teams, indoor & outdoor maps, ticket booking, and pre-ordering. 

Example: Spyn, GoSporto, Oyeplay, Groundwala, Athletto, Playo

9. Sports News & Analysis App

The Sports News tracking apps serve as the aggregator of every kind of information about sports, like sports championships, team statistics, sports news, scores, interviews of players, coaches, and other influential people in the sports world. These apps usually offer live streaming of games, news, real-time scores,  podcasts, and video recordings. The app can be dedicated to a particular sport or cover multiple sports together like cricket, soccer, golf, baseball, basketball, and other sports. 

Example: Bleacher Report, Yahoo Sports, theScore, CBS Sports, SofaScore, LiveScore

10. Sports Celebrity App

These Sports Celebrity apps are an exciting way to engage with celebrities. Nowadays, it has become a trend for stars to have their apps to chat with their fans and share a part of their lives with them. This app also displays the upcoming events where the celebrities will be participating, their records, and everything they like to share with their fans. 

Example: MLB, Bleacher Report, theScore, Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, SofaScore, LiveScore

11. Sports Games App

As per research conducted by a tech consulting firm Activate, more than 250 million people watch eSports, and its popularity is rapidly growing every year. Hence, esports is directly competing with traditional sports. Tyler Blevins, aka Ninja, a famous eSports star, makes $300,000 per month from streaming gaming competitions. These apps allow the viewers to stream competitions easily connect and they have the option to donate the money to their favorite gamers. Twitch is among the popular eSports apps that allow users to watch video streams, clips, highlights, follow their favorite games, browse the eSports apps for new content & channels, engage in a live chat, receive push notifications regarding current/upcoming streams. 

Example: NBA Live , F1 Mobile Racing, Virtua Tennis Challenge, Madden NFL 22 Mobile, MLB 9 Innings 21 Mobile, Football Manager 2021 Mobile

12. Sports Facility Booking App

The sports facility apps work great for the owners/administrators of the gym, a tennis center, basketball court, swimming pool, roller drome, or stadium. A description can be added to each facility, whether it is gym or stadium, or court, offering a detailed schedule that allows the app users to see the timing when a facility is free. For instance, a gym facility app allows the app users to book group training sessions and learn about the coaches & instructors. These apps are integrated with the payment gateways so users can make convenient payments. 

Example: Active Network, GoalLine, Omnify, Owlwise, PlayyOn

13. Neighbourhood Sports Connect

These are quite useful apps as they allow the app users to find sports locations in their neighborhoods. They can find and create locations where they can play cricket, soccer, basketball, tennis, and other sports. These apps are integrated with easy payment methods, so the users can make payments as they book a facility. 

Example: ESPN Fantasy Sports, ESPN: Live Sports & Scores, NFL, CBS Sports App Scores & News, NCAA March Madness Live

14. Sports Quiz App

These apps are quite popular among sports enthusiasts as they offer interactive Quiz games designed to be utilized by people of all ages. These apps offer attractive animations for quiz events, a great gaming experience, audio commentary for the quiz events, and a lot more. The sports fans find these quizzes really interesting as they like to check their sports knowledge and at the same time they get to win prizes and rewards upon winning a quiz. 

Example: Sports Fan Quiz, Da’Game Sports Trivia, Bally Sports Ohio, Soccer Quiz 2020, Quizit

Conclusion

If you are looking to create a Sports mobile app for your business and are unable to find a great idea, then we hope this list would help you reach the right idea for your business. 

Do you want to create your own sports mobile app? Hire a mobile app development company that specializes in creating android and iOS mobile apps and can turn your creative money-making app ideas into reality.