English Premier League champions Manchester City are all set to enter the metaverse. The football club has partnered with Sony to build a virtual replica of Etihad, its home stadium. The virtual stadium is supposed to be the team’s central hub in the metaverse--a virtual world that can be accessed through headsets and hand controllers using various technologies like artificial intelligence, virtual reality (VR) and blockchain.

The top football team on February 18 signed a three-year agreement with Sony, which would involve VR experts to use image analysis and skeletal-tracking technology from subsidiary Hawk-Eye. These tools will be used to create a life-like replica of the Etihad Stadium, one of the most prominent stadiums in England.

The team’s management has claimed that fans will be easily able to enjoy the benefits of a virtual stadium from the comfort of their home, especially through turbulent times like the ongoing pandemic.

“The whole point we could imagine of having a metaverse is you can recreate a game, you could watch the game live, you’re part of the action in a different way through different angles, and you can fill the stadium as much as you want because it’s unlimited, it’s completely virtual,” City Football Group’s Chief Marketing Officer and fan engagement officer Nuria Tarré told iNews on Friday.

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“But also you’re in control of what you want to be watching at that time. There’s not one broadcast point of view, you can look at it through any angle of the stadium. That’s the sky -- the limit,” Tarré said.

The metaverse setting will be immersive so that fans can feel like they are in the real stadium without taxing travel and commuting to the stadium. This will also tear down geographic barriers as fans worldwide would be able to enjoy the stadiums from their respective countries. As Tarre pointed out, “at best one percent of our fans will ever travel to Manchester to experience a game”.

Sony has had a strong association with sporting and virtual worlds through its video games division, so it makes sense that they would combine the two. Sony has been using its subsidiary, Hawk-eye, for a long time to enhance the sporting experience for viewers and officials.

For the officials, Hawk-eye utilises real-time replay technology to make in-game calls and judgements at any moment of the game. The technology’s visualisation applications will be used to recreate the dimensions of the virtual stadium in the metaverse.

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Manchester City seems to be jumping on the bandwagon that has become globally popular. Many brands and retailers like Nike and Walmart have filed trademarks relating to metaverse technology.

Manchester city’s dive into the world of metaverse maybe piquing the interest of other English premier league teams. According to echo, a Liverpool news outlet, the Merseyside team is exploring the metaverse to increase revenue.

Manchester City and Sony are also exploring other facets of the game in the metaverse such as how fans can meet, engage, do things they like and spend on fan items in a virtual world.

However, Tarre also pointed out that this may not still completely replace the live experience. “We still want people to meet each other!"

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“And I think this is the beauty of live games and fans in stadiums. We saw when fans were not in stadiums

While sporting events in the metaverse will currently look like digital versions of the game, just like the FIFA video game franchise, there is a possibility that fans will be able to watch real games in the virtual stadium. As Andy Etches, co-founder of Rezzil, said, “It’s not too far off.”

Rezzil has developed Player 22, a metaverse game that Premier League clubs use to train players. “We could pretty much deliver it now, although at this stage it would more likely be a computer-generated version,” Etches said.