Crystal Palace FC Wins Innovation Award for Vision Enhancement System

Pioneering the technology this season, as the first football club in England to offer it, Crystal Palace FC and their partners have enhanced the matchday experience for home and away supporters alike at Selhurst Park, allowing fans with sight loss to experience live football like never before.

The Innovation Award was presented at a prestigious ceremony in London last month.

Officially debuting at Selhurst in a match against Manchester United in September, the GiveVision headset, powered by a private 5G network designed and installed by Shared Access, streams live footage directly to those fans in real time.

This system delivers an immersive, sharp stereoscopic feed to the working part of the user’s retina, enhancing remaining vision and enabling them to follow the game in detail.

The key to the innovation lies in the speed and reliability of the private 5G network installed at Selhurst Park at the beginning of the season. Unlike traditional broadcasts that experience delays, the 5G-enabled GiveVision headsets receive an uninterrupted live feed, ensuring users see every moment in sync with the pitch action.

Whether it’s a goal scored or missed, fans with low vision can follow it in real time alongside every other spectator in the stadium.

With one in 30 people in the UK affected by some degree of sight loss, this initiative has helped address a significant gap in football accessibility. Palace’s commitment to using technology to make football more inclusive has been not only a first for the Premier League, but also sets a new standard for sporting venues worldwide.