Project · Venue & Stadium Technology · Team experience

Smart Sport Access ID: one card for the whole match day

A smart card and app that let a fan ride the bus and the metro, enter the stadium, pay in the skybox and share a top-up with the family, all with one tap and no phone needed.

Talk to us about a similar projectAll projects
ForFans and their families on match day
The cardSmall screen, name on the card, NFC, RFID, payment chip, Bluetooth
Works withBuses, metro, turnstiles and point of sale
Our roleOperations, technology validation and quality assurance
The story

One fan's match day, with one card

Scroll through one fan's day, from home to the stadium and back. A simplified, illustrative view.

  1. The cardCredit-card sized, with a small screen and the holder's name raised on it. A payment chip, NFC, RFID and Bluetooth sit inside.
  2. A pass from the phoneThe match ticket and a day pass are bought in the app and loaded onto the card.
  3. On the busOne tap at the door, as with any travel card.
  4. On the metroAnother tap at the station, and the train runs to the stadium stop.
  5. At the right gateThe card's ticket tells the turnstile at the right gate to open. No paper, no phone.
  6. In the skyboxFood and drinks paid for with the same card.
  7. Shared with the familyA top-up in the app, and the children buy food and merchandise on their own.
  8. Out againA tap on the way out, and the same card takes the family home.

The 3D stadium is adapted from “Soccer Stadium” by R-LAB, CC BY 4.0

The challenge

Too many tickets, cards and apps for one day out

A match day can mean a bus pass, a metro ticket, a stadium ticket and a payment card, each with its own queue and its own failure point.

Many systems, one fan

Transport, ticketing and payments each run their own systems, and the fan has to juggle them all.

Phones run out

A flat battery or a weak signal at the gate should not stop a fan from getting in.

Families share

Parents want to give their children spending money safely, without handing over their own card or phone.

What we did

One card, many doors

01

A card that does five things

Transport, entry, payments, passes and top-ups on one credit-card-sized device, with a phone app beside it.

02

Tested where it is used

Every reader, gate and till checked with the card before match day, in the conditions fans will meet.

03

Run on the day

Operations and support while the system was live, with the issues fed back into the next release.

Results

What it gives

1

card for transport, entry and payments

No

phone needed at the gate

Shared

top-ups for the family

Behind the card

Many parties, one experience

A glimpse of what sits behind a single tap. Our part was operations, validating the technology and quality assurance, and the early phase.

  • An account behind each cardFor passes, top-ups and spending.
  • TransportBuses and metro accepting the same card.
  • Stadium entryTurnstiles reading the ticket on the card.
  • PaymentsTills and kiosks taking the card like any other.
  • The appBuying, loading and topping up.
  • Testing and operationsEvery reader checked, and support on the day.
The business case

Why it pays back

A high-level view of the value for venue owners, operators and authorities.

  • One card, fewer queuesOne credential instead of many tickets and passes, at gates and at stations.
  • Faster entryA tap at the turnstile, with no phone or paper to find.
  • More spent insideEasy payment in skyboxes and kiosks, families included.
  • Fewer ticket problemsA secure credential tied to its holder, harder to copy or resell.
  • The whole day in viewTransport, entry and spending seen together, for better planning.
  • Used again and againThe same card for every match and event that follows.
Connected projects

Part of a larger programme

Venue technologyTeam experience

Command and control for tournament stadiums

One platform connecting 8 stadiums in real time, with a 3D digital twin, standard procedures and smart incident management.

Featured by Microsoft, Middle East & Africa News CenterFeatured in the national “Connected Tournament” report
  • A remote command centre for 8 stadiums
  • A digital twin with procedures and BIM ingestion
  • Smart alarms and incident management
Read the project
Venue technologyTeam experience

Crowd management with live headcount

Live headcount on the stadium twin, counting only with no face recognition: sections filling against their usual curve, queues explained at the gates, and a view for the authorities.

  • Headcount in every section
  • Queues and their causes at the gates
  • A live view for stadium authorities
Read the project
Venue technologyTeam experience

Stadium wayfinding, from the gate to the seat

Indoor directions for fans and staff with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth beacons and a magnetic map of the stadium, through the lifts and to the seat.

  • Indoor positioning
  • A magnetic map of the venue
  • Through lifts and between floors
Read the project
Capabilities

What it drew on

Smart cards and NFCRFIDPayments integrationTransport ticketingTurnstile integrationMobile appsQuality assuranceOperations

Turn ambition into results.

Tell us where you want to be. We will show you the fastest way to get there, with the right mix of strategy, technology and AI.

Start a conversation