Experience many generations
There were very similar evenings in many families: A TV, a Premier League match, a familiar commentator's voice, a few whistles or a buzz. That is the way many generations have grown up with football, watching on the biggest screen possible, listening to all the words, and accepting that is the "right" way.
But then, another era told another story. The children of the new generation - those born in a world where the internet already exists - watch TV, put their headphones on their phones, listen to an influencer comment in a... unlike anyone else. Football in 2025 has become a multi-layered experience, with many devices, and many parallel information flows. And that is just the beginning of the big up front.
So how will football be in 2035? Are we entering an era where the live game is no longer in the center? Or will it all be just highlights lasting a few dozen seconds?
Technology giants in sports, such as Matt Stagg - former CTO of EE and BT Sport - believe that watching and using a second screen has become a natural reflection of Gen Z. But he also agrees with the view that they still watch fully when they are truly interested. That is, the problem lies with us - the ones who create, distribute and tell the story of football - not the impatience of the new generation.
Peter Hutton - who has worked at BBC, Sky, Meta and Saudi Pro League - said this: "Now there is no longer just one way to talk to the audience. You need different editing tones on different platforms. Live matches are not necessarily the focus. Some platforms prioritize clips, some platform prioritize analysis, some platforms like entertaining content. The war now is to gain attention - the most valuable asset of the times.
New contents in the future
And when talking about the future, sometimes people are afraid of making themselves laugh like in science fiction movies like "Back to the Future" in 1985 predicting the technology of 2015 - with flying taxis, hanging skis or self-cing shoes. But today's trends are going faster than imagined.
In 2035, audiences will definitely watch more sports content than now. Not only because Paramount+, Amazon or DAZN rushed to buy copyrights, but because of the amount of content created by the players and clubs, the tournament exploded to an unimaginable level. According to Two Circles, the total global sports viewing time will increase by 3 times in less than 2 decades. As AI helps produce content more and more cheaply and quickly, 2034 could see more than 200,000 new content "born" in just 1 year.
But quantity isn't the only thing changing. Power is moving.
In the old era, television commentators decided how we received the game. In the new era, it is the player who tells the strongest story. A video posted by Erling Haaland himself on social media can create multi-fold interaction to highlight the tournament's official highlight. Techniques like Greenfly will help players receive videos as soon as they leave the pitch, so that they can tell themselves the game in their own way, attracting their community. Football has therefore become closer, more realistic, even... more chaotic.
This means that attention is torn. Fans are increasingly crazy about watching, while popular fans are drawn to simpler, faster, and lighter things. Tournaments and teams are forced to produce double the amount and diversify the content if they want to stay relevant.
Not cheap
In 2035, the match will no longer be a single version. It will have many " layers of clothes" and many "interfaces". A data lover will watch football like watching... vivid Excel board: heat map, speed, travel distance, xG chart running across the screen. Another person would listen to their favorite YouTuber comment in a joke-off but honest style. A couple could choose cartoon versions for their children - like the League of Legends with slime and SpongeBob that Nickelodeon used to do.
Everyone watched the same match, but each person had his own world.
And there are also video games. The EA's cooperation to broadcast the League of Legends under the familiar camera angles of gamers, or the MLS bringing the game into the main "TV portal of the game", shows that the line between watching and playing is fading away. A large part of the audience will watch and... control the match according to their own simulation.
High-end viewing packages are definitely more expensive. But the paradox is that part of the content is more free than ever. DAZN distributes the expanded Club World Cup for free. TikTok showed the Southend - Carlisle match live to 70,000 viewers, but the audience only needed to... across the screen. CazeTV in Brazil also bought the World Cup copyright thanks to advertising revenue.
However, illegal viewers became the most mentioned group. Some tournaments accept placing advertisements right on the illegal stream to "calculate" them. Others use AI to accurately count to sell ads at more accurate prices. No one wants to lose them, because to find a smuggling flow, they have to... care.
2035 is also the year of smart glasses. Not bulky VR glasses - something that has been expected for 30 years - but still just a small group item. The future lies in light glasses like Ray-Ban, transparent, not making the wearer look like they are preparing to fly a spaceship. The glass helps data appear right in front of the eyes: Player speed, name of the creator, VAR situation... all without having to look down at the phone.
Smart glasses will replace the second screen, but not the social experience. The wearer still chats, still cheers, still shares emotions - something that a VR headset cannot have.
Old value
But amid those changes, there is still value that is not lost: The desire to sit and watch a match in the old way - full of comments, seamless emotions, a big screen, the whole family gathers. Not everyone wants to "serve a wife". Not all audiences want short clips or eye-catching graphics. Because football is born from the community, by the noise on the field, by the drinks and by the feelings of living with the moment.
In 2035, football can be on TikTok, in games, in smart glasses, on 4 frames at the same time. But the original - the 90-minute, complete and true match - will not disappear.
Culture changes. Technology changes. habits change. But a beautiful goal still made people stand up from their seats. A big match still slows down the whole city. In any era, the last thing to keep the audience is still the truth that football must be good enough to make people pay attention. And when football is good enough, whether it's on TV, phone, smart glasses or video games, emotions are still beyond all technology.
The future of football can be divided into countless different groups, but it is the emotions that will connect them in a single flow that has existed for a long time!
