Sports gamification trends: The must-try apps and fan experiences of summer 2026

With a stacked summer of exciting sporting events ahead of us, including the men’s FIFA World Cup, Women’s T20 World Cup, Commonwealth Games, Wimbledon and Formula 1 British Grand Prix, here are some of the new features and extras to keep an eye out for.

Official FIFA World Cup 2026 app

Football’s coming home! At least that will be the case with the official World Cup app, which allows users to follow live scores, keep track of all the fixtures and match updates, watch highlights, play interactive games and even get the chance to explore host cities and stadiums, all from the comfort of their phone. Users will also be able to compete with fans across the globe and access exclusive rewards.

Playbook Football World Cup

World Cup fever has well and truly arrived. Launching just in time for the tournament is the Playbook Football World Cup, which gives fans the opportunity to build their own international squad and compete in daily challenges to earn rewards and compete on leaderboards.

SEA&WIN

It’s no surprise that there’s a bit of a World Cup theme going on here. Created by SeattleFWC26 to celebrate the tournament, Seattle’s ‘SEA&WIN’ campaign is an official interactive mobile game and fan activation. The campaign encourages locals and visitors to explore the region, visit local businesses and unlock rewards like match tickets and custom artwork by completing challenges.

Fliff

Popular in the US, Fliff is a social sportsbook that reimagines sports predictions as a free to play social game. Users can make predictions on major US and international sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and the FIFA World Cup. For the tournament, users will have the chance to create tournament predictions using virtual currencies (Fliff Coins) and enter sweepstakes with the potential to redeem real cash prizes (Fliff Cash) on matches.

myWIMBLEDON 

The official Wimbledon app is a must for attendees of the world’s oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament. Key features of the app include the relatively new addition of ‘Match Chat’ where users can ask specific questions about ongoing play, as well as get real-time AI updates on each player’s probability of victory as momentum shifts during the match. Users will also have access to personalised player-related alerts, play status and many other features.

Catch the Spirit

Although more of a nationwide initiative, Catch the Spirit is a campaign designed to promote the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026. Clubs and communities can use the Clubspark platform to create their own watch parties.

F1 Fantasy

The F1 Fantasy summer season is in full swing, with upcoming races in Austria, Great Britain and Belgium. The game allows fans to manage a virtual team of real-life drivers and constructors. Players are tasked with building a line-up and competing in global and private leagues against friends and fans worldwide.