- Apple Sports is launching in 90 new markets ahead of FIFA World Cup 26
- A new visual tournament hub adds live formations, lineups, and team tracking
- As with other sports, we’re expecting it to update in real-time for these games
While it’s not quite a hattrick, Apple is pulling a one-two punch of announcements for the Apple Sports app ahead of one of the biggest global sporting events of the year, kicking off next month: the FIFA World Cup 26.
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 for most major games across categories. Be it baseball, soccer, football, tennis, basketball, or Formula 1, the app also supports larger tournaments.
Apple Sports is free and available to download in over 170 countries and regions, after the Cupertino-based technology giant added 90 new markets today. So if it wasn’t available in your home country yet, Apple might have added it to the list.
Fans of FIFA, though, will be pleased to know that you can get ready to track the tournament as a whole and your favorite teams ahead of the first match kicking off in June. The team working on Apple Sports is ushering in a new tournament view that will let you track any team from the early group stages through to the finals.
It’s a very clean visual look that presents a decent bit of information in an easy, glanceable fashion — of course, you’ll be able to click or tap to dive in deeper. Maybe even more interesting, though, are the visual formations that let you get a sense of the team structure and player positioning via photos spread across the pitch. It’s an easy way to view the starting lineup, see who’s on the bench, and follow how the competition is shaping up.
As players are subbed in and out, Apple Sports will update this view as well as the other stats. One of the more impressive parts of the Apple Sports app since launch is the speed at which it pulls in real-time data and presents it, often beating a TV or radio broadcast since there’s no delay.
It’ll be one to watch for the FIFA World Cup 26, but chances are Apple won’t let performance slip for such an important series of matches on a true world stage. In a shared quote alongside this expansion of the app, Oliver Schusser, Apple’s SVP of Music, Sports, Apple TV, and Beats, emphasized the importance of the data, saying:
“The World Cup unites fans across the globe, making it the ideal moment to bring Apple Sports to even more users. Apple Sports was designed to be fast and simple, giving fans an easy way to stay on top of scores, stats, and the action that matters most in real time.”
Much like we’ve seen with Apple Sports supporting Formula 1 and linking the experience to other parts of Apple’s ecosystem, you’ll be able to jump into Apple News if you’re in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, or Australia to see content about the World Cup. Unlike with MLS, Friday Night Baseball, or Formula 1, though, Apple TV itself isn’t broadcasting the games.
Even so, with a range of sports apps on the market — many of which cost money — Apple Sports is clearly trying to beef up its interface for the FIFA World Cup, and I’m keen to see how these features work in practice and the speed at which they update.
Let me know what you think about the updates in the comments down below. And yes, the Apple Sports app is still free and exclusive to the iPhone.
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