- Apple Sports launches in 90 new markets ahead of FIFA World Cup 26
- New visual tournament hub adds live lineups, lineups and team tracking
- As with other sports, we expect it to be updated in real time for these games.
Although it’s not quite a hat-trick, Apple is making a double announcement for the Apple Sports app ahead of one of the biggest global sporting events of the year, which begins next month: the 26 FIFA World Cup.
For those who haven’t used it, the Apple Sports app is designed to be a one-stop shop for sports scores and live updates from most major games across all categories. Whether baseball, football, soccer, tennis, basketball or Formula 1, the app also supports larger tournaments.
Apple Sports is free and available to download in more than 170 countries and regions, after the Cupertino-based tech giant added 90 new markets today. So if it wasn’t yet available in your home country, Apple might have added it to the list.
FIFA fans, however, will be pleased to know that you can prepare to follow the entire tournament and your favorite teams before the first match kicks off in June. The Apple Sports team is introducing a new tournament view that will allow you to follow any team from the early group stages to the final.
This is a very clean visual appearance that presents a bit of information in a simple and visible way. Of course, you can click or tap to explore further. Perhaps even more interesting are visual formations that allow you to get a sense of team structure and player positioning via photos spread out across the field. It’s an easy way to view the starting lineup, see who’s on the bench, and follow how the competition is progressing.
As players come in and out, Apple Sports will update this view along with the other stats. One of the most impressive parts of the Apple Sports app since its launch is how quickly it pulls real-time data and presents it, often beating a TV or radio show since there’s no delay.
This will be one to watch for FIFA World Cup 26, but it’s likely that Apple won’t let the performance of such an important match series on a true global stage slip away. In a quote shared alongside this app expansion, Oliver Schusser, Apple’s senior vice president of music, sports, Apple TV and Beats, highlighted the importance of data, saying:
“The World Cup brings fans together around the world, making it the perfect time to bring Apple Sports to even more users. Apple Sports was designed to be fast and simple, giving fans an easy way to stay up to date with scores, stats and the action that matters most in real time.”
Just as we’ve seen with Apple Sports supporting Formula 1 and connecting the experience to other parts of the Apple ecosystem, you’ll be able to access Apple News if you’re in the US, UK, Canada or Australia to view World Cup content. Unlike MLS, Friday Night Baseball or Formula 1, Apple TV itself does not broadcast the matches.
Despite this, with a range of sports apps on the market – many of which are paid – Apple Sports is clearly trying to beef up its interface for the FIFA World Cup, and I can’t wait to see how these features work in practice and how quickly they are updated.
Let me know what you think of the updates in the comments below. And yes, the Apple Sports app is still free and exclusive to the iPhone.
Follow TechRadar on Google News And add us as your favorite source to get our news, reviews and expert opinions in your feeds.
