On Thursday evening the Yahoo Sports Technology Awards, an event for which Digital Sport is a media partner, will once again take place in London with an interesting range of tech talks lined-up for before the gala itself.

This year, sponsor Yahoo Sports is on board as a named partner, and the publisher adds a touch of mainstream sporting coverage to an event which celebrates innovation and invention within the industry bubble.

Yahoo’s global editor-in-chief, Nick Petche, told Digital Sport about why they wanted to become involved with the partnership and how technology in sport is becoming of more and more interest to sports fans in general.

“Yahoo Sport has an informed and passionate audience in the UK, and we have always sought to bring them closer to the sports they love,” he said. “The convergence of technology with sport is something that, like in many other facets of our lives, is increasingly relevant and important.”

A day before #YSTA2018, we'd like to look back to last week's #STAStartups and once again congratulate the winners! pic.twitter.com/gSMKpLxHtV

— Yahoo Sports Tech Awards (@SportTechAwards) May 2, 2018

“It makes sense for Yahoo Sport to continue to develop partnerships and editorial content which are distinctive, informing and entertaining.”

When Yahoo was formed in the 1990s, it was one of the earliest recognisable names on the internet. It has always been a pioneer when it comes to technological advancements over the last few decades, and the newest digital developments are set to change the face of how fans consume their favourite teams and leagues.

“Sport, and media coverage of sport, have always evolved with technology,” says Petche. “whether that’s in the implementation of the rules of the sport, how sports work as a spectacle, both for those at an event or watching via an ever increasing number of available options.”

“From slow motion replays on TV, goal line technology and VAR to UHD broadcasts, live streaming and instantly sharable news and viewer participation. There are now so many varied and engaging ways that technology and sport intersect that technology is central to many sports experiences. That may be for a broadcaster, a sports team, nutritionist or many others. This will only increase as the sector develops and possibilities around technology increase.”

Social media has brought fans closer than ever to their favourite teams and players, other digital platforms have allowed clubs to become media outlets and broadcasters or publishers to branch out into other areas of life beyond linear TV and print. And that’s only going to increase.

On Thursday evening, when the winners of the Sports Technology Awards are announced, it will be a celebration of that. So what will Petche himself be looking out for?

“With the World Cup coming up in Russia, and with football of key interest to our audience,” he says, “I am personally interested in how technology impacts on football, especially with VAR being used at a World Cup for the first time.”

“As a Brighton fan, it follows on nicely from being used for the first time in a professional English match in the FA Cup tie between Brighton & Crystal Palace, whilst the Best Digital Development is of particular interest to myself and the team at Yahoo.”

There is no doubt that the future of technology will shape the future of sport – both for those who play and perform it and those who consume and enjoy it.