The future of Sport: a note from 2033

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction

Without boring you with too many details, I stumbled across a car that, when it hit 89 miles per hour, jumped into the future. I used the car to travel to the year 2033, and then found a house by a river with a mail box that was able to transport things through time (you’ll notice my careful avoidance of copyright violation there.) I used the mail box to send a letter to my friends at Sportskeeda.com reporting to you all back in 2013 what has happened to the sporting world in the intervening 20 years. This is what you have to look forward to:

Football

The most important and the most inevitable advancement that the game has embraced since 2013 has been goal line technology. Thankfully, in 2033, thirty years later than it should have been, goal-line technology is now a staple of the modern game. Almost every major domestic league in the world uses some form of goal line technology in all of its competitive matches.

The EPL and Spanish Liga BBVA use the British developed Hawk-Eye system, which employs a number of cameras around the stadium to track the ball across the pitch and can accurately detect the ball’s exact movements. This technology has been used for some time in both Tennis and Cricket. The German Bundesliga and the Italian and French top divisions use the German GoalRef system, which uses sensors along the goalposts and a micro-chip in the football itself to alert the referee when the ball crosses the goal line.

In international football, the GoalRef technology has become very popular, after first being approved by FIFA and the International Football Association Board (IFAB) for use at the 2013 Confederations Cup as well as the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

However, Michel Platini’s bizarre and frustrating refusal to bow to technology meant that the UEFA Champions League and Europa League competitions remained without goal line technology until 2015, when Platini lost the UEFA Presidential election on the back of a very unpopular anti-technology manifesto. Happily, UEFA and FIFA are able to say in 2033 that there hasn’t been a single mistake made on a goal line decision in a competitive FIFA or UEFA endorsed football match for over 18 years.

Goal-line technology is not the only innovation that is new to football since 2013. Vanishing spray is now widely used in Europe and across the world as a means for the referee to mark ten yards exactly from a free kick. The unusual technique proved very successful in trials at the 2011 Copa America and was adopted by UEFA, FIFA and domestic leagues in the middle of the 2010s. Further, video replays are now used in FIFA, UEFA and all major domestic leagues to determine whether a foul awarded on the periphery of the penalty box should be deemed a free kick or penalty. I’m particularly relieved about this development because in early 2013 I called for it.

N.b

Sergio Aguero’s son and Diego Maradona’s grandson, Benjamin Aguero, is expected to headline the Argentina national side at the 2034 World Cup in Guangzhou. At 21 years of age, he was already one of the nation’s most important players at the 2030 World Cup in Argentina. The youngster plays with “Benjamin” on the back of his shirt as he believes to wear “Maradona” or “Aguero” would be disrespectful to the reputations of his Father and Grandfather.

Liverpool have still not won a Premier League title. It has now been 40 years since they last won the top division in England.

Sir Alex Ferguson is still alive and regularly attends games as a guest of Manchester United. Though he can no longer eat solid foods, he still chews 10 packs of gum a day.

Unfortunately, Arsene Wenger was accidently transferred to the same Retirement Home as Ferguson in 2028, and reports indicate that the ensuing confrontation was the greatest conflict of aged men since the start of time.

Cricket

Overall, cricket in today’s world resembles soccer more than the traditional cricket structure. The world’s best players earn millions of dollars playing for their club teams in limited over cricket (namely the IPL and the English 20Twenty League), and then occasionally group together in their respective international teams to play in major tournaments like the Cricket World Cup.

The IPL, in particular, has become incredibly successful. When I say this, I mean it has got really massive, rivalling the popularity of the UEFA Champions League in football and the NBA in basketball. The tournament is watched by millions across the globe and the stadiums that the teams play in are state-of-the-art arenas.

Unfortunately, the success and wealth of the IPL has had a knock on effect that had been predicted since the early 2000s. Cricket in its purest form, the Test match, is in serious decline and while it does still exist here in 2033, all evidence points to Test cricket being completely eradicated within the next ten years or so. It is only really played in very low attended games with second rate players, as the true stars are earning the big money in the IPL. Commercialism destroyed the 5-day game.

Major League Baseball

A combination of this drastic financial withdrawal and waning crowd numbers due to fans losing respect for the integrity of the sport meant teams did not have the money to afford the huge player contracts they were responsible for. Over half the league’s ball clubs went bankrupt by 2019, and the MLB subsequently disbanded. The league was rejuvenated in 2023 by a group of wealthy baseball fans and former owners, sparking a modest revival of “America’s favourite past-time”.

However, the league only plays in front of relatively small crowds in smaller stadiums with limited team resources. High school and college athletes are now far more inclined to grow up playing basketball or American football, as they can make much more money playing in the NBA or the NFL than if they chose the MLB. Where the historic Wrigley Field once stood, there now stands a Wal-Mart.

No one outside America cares.

NFL

In 2020, the NFL finally expanded beyond American shores, creating a franchise in London called the London Bulldogs. Predictably, drafted players and free agents did not want to play for the team because nobody wanted to move England to play when the alternatives were Florida and California.

With a team full of second rate players and cast-offs, and with 3 of their first 5 first round draft picks holding out to be traded to another US-based team, the London Bulldogs struggled to survive. After 5 straight losing seasons and a rapidly declining attendance record, the team folded in 2025. Plans for other expansion franchises in Canada, Mexico and Germany were soon scrapped.

In other news, diversity in the coaching ranks is no longer an issue in America’s most famous sport as is in 2013. After reading an article I wrote about the subject, the league’s officials came to their senses and opted to attack the diversity problem at the collegiate level. Today, over half of the league’s head coaches are of an ethnic minority.

Tennis

Tennis has seen a surprisingly wide assortment of changes. For one thing, surfaces are now largely synthetic, and perfectly designed to suit the specific needs of a tournament. An exception to this rule is the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (Wimbledon), which despite significant pressure, has to date refused to replace the natural seed-grown grass for an artificial surface.

Traditionalists at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club have so far resisted the move towards synthetic grass

Equipment has also seen drastic changes. Racquets are now much bigger, which has created a playing style suited to baseline tennis. As an effect of this, net play and flat shots are almost non-existent, and physicality is being valued more and more over superior technique. Most racquets, even at an amateur level, now include a chip in the handle, which can record the angle and ferocity of each shot, downloadable as computer data in order for a player to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of his game.

Further innovation has taken place to improve the in-game experience. Let serves have been abolished, so if a serve hits the net and dribbles over, it is now given as an ace. In 2018, a shot-clock was introduced similar to the shot-clock that appears in NBA basketball games. The countdown clock is used to restrict the time taken between points, and is visible within the stadium so that the audiences join in the countdown before every point.

Also, the challenge system underwent several changes. Players were allowed to make unlimited challenges from 2019, after an increase to 5 challenges per set in 2016. However, this proved to be a time costly exercise and was overused by some players simply to take rest in particularly tiring matches or to halt momentum when they found themselves in a slump. The rule changed again in 2022, and players went back to being allowed 5 challenges per set.

NBA

When I travelled to America, one of the first things I asked the nearest man in a shiny grey jumpsuit was “So who do you think was better? LeBron or Jordan?”

Apparently after LeBron led the Heat to back-to-back championships in 2013 and his 4th MVP title, he played another 10 years with Miami and matched MJ’s total of 6 championships, won a ridiculous 7 league MVP titles and was selected as an All-star for every remaining year of his career. He is largely considered to be the greatest basketball player of all time. NBA courts in 2033 would be unrecognisable to the 2013 basketball fan. All NBA stadiums now utilise a new playing surface called GlassFloor, consisting of LED lights under a glass surface. Ceramic dots on the glass re-create the feel of a wooden surface, while special etchings diffuse the LED light and prevent glare from bothering athletes. Because of the LED lights under the floor, the scoreboard, game graphics and advertisements now all appear on the floor rather than the big screen. The floor is also able to tell the match officials conclusively whether a ball lands out of bounds or not.

The high degree of success this surface has had in the NBA and the ability to recreate any playing court because of the artificial nature of the lines has also led Tennis officials to consider using it as a surface in some tournaments. The qualities of the floor would mean that officials would not be needed at all, as the floor itself would provide all the decisions accurately. Discussions about utilising the GlassFloor system are on-going.

Formula 1

In 2014, team orders were abolished and fans around the globe cheered (I’m told). Then, in the 2015 season, in the season finale in Brazil, Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso and Sebastien Vettel crashed into each other while Alonso fought to take the race lead despite Vettel having already won the driver’s championship.

Alonso lost his front wing and crashed out, Vettel limped to 8th place with a damaged gearbox and Ferrari lost the constructors championship by 3 points to Mercedes, who ended up coming in 1st and 3rd after the Ferrari disaster. As keeping the teams happy is much more important than keeping the drivers happy, team orders were re-introduced before 2016 and have not been questioned since.

There are more technical aspects of the sport that have obviously undergone significant scientific advancement (such as improved fuel consumption and reduced tyre degradation) and which have drastically altered the sport. However, I don’t really understand what they are.

Olympic Games

The events at an Olympic Games in 2033 vary somewhat to what you are used to back in 2013. Cricket in the 20Twenty format became a part of the Olympic Games at the 2024 games in Paris. Rugby 7′s and Golf are also now staples of the Olympic Games.

One of the more dramatic struggles in IOC history has been wrestling. After the controversial announcement was made in early 2013 of the sport’s unceremonious dumping from the 2020 Olympics, the decision was reversed and the sport was actually re-introduced before the 2020 Games in Tokyo, after a petition was sent to the IOC. Wrestling ended up not missing a single Olympic Games.

China and USA have been the top 2 countries in every Olympic Games medals table since London 2012. Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Russia, Germany and Australia have all been in the top 10. Some things don’t change.

Some things, however, do change. India improved on their 6 medals in 2012 to gain twice that amount in Rio 2016. The world’s second largest nation improved in every Olympics to date, culminating in a top ten finish in the 2028 games in Cairo. They achieved 28 medals, including 9 golds, 7 silvers and 12 bronze. Shooting, Hockey, Badminton, Wrestling and Cricket were the Gold medal awards.

Golf

Technology has had as much of an effect on golf as on any other sport. Improvements to clubs, especially the driver and woods, has allowed for dramatic improvements to the average golfer’s driving distance. On the PGA, 500yd par 5′s aren’t par 5′s anymore, as a PGA golf pro is able on average to drive the ball 400 yards straight off the tee.

This has caused serious problems for the PGA, as a number of courses have had to be significantly lengthened in order to keep up with improving shot distances. Slowly but steadily, courses are running out of real estate to expand into, and consequently the short fairways are providing little challenge to top end players.

Society and Sport

Homosexual sportsmen and women are now common in most sports in the world. The trend began with a number of high profile football players coming out as a group to the world media, and following their widespread acceptance, players in cricket and Rugby Union followed.

US-based sportsmen and women remained reluctant to come out for another ten years, but after a poll in 2022 suggested that far more people in America were pro-homosexuality than against it, a number of NFL players decided to make their sexual orientation public. Basketball players and Hockey players soon followed.

As with 20th century racism, there are still pockets of resistance to homosexuality, and abuse at sports grounds, particularly in European football, remained common for much of the 2020s. Recently, however, significant improvements towards tolerance have been made.

Technological Advances for the Spectator

Watching sport is a whole different experience now thanks to Google’s Project Glasses. The advanced eyewear is essential HUD for your own viewing pleasure. When you watch the 100m finals at the Olympics, for example, you are able to see a speedometer next to the runners telling you their exact speed, all from your seat in the stadium. They also allow you to access data in-game, such as checking on your team’s possession percentage whilst watching a football match. In 2033, these are as commonplace as the iPhone is in 2013.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction