Glazers want Man Utd stars to wear augmented reality cameras in money-spinning move so fans can ‘pay to be Rashford’
MANCHESTER UNITED stars could potentially soon be wearing cameras in matches as part of a money-spinning plan by the Glazer family.
The Americans have recently sold a 25 per cent minority share in the Red Devils to Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos.
But they have kept the majority stake, despite the heavy criticism from supporters ever since their ownership began in 2005.
It was previously reported how Joel and Avram Glazer were keen to stay at the club as they believe that it has huge potential for “organic growth” over the coming years.
Now ESPN has claimed that one of the potential ideas that has been talked about by the Americans relates to Augmented Reality (AR).
They report that a source who is familiar with the Glazers’ business model told them: “The big idea, or maybe the big hope, that the Glazers have – and this was driven by Ed Woodward – is the emergence of Augmented Reality.
“The technology is already out there whereby a player could have an AR wearable on his body and a supporter anywhere in the world could pay a small fee to experience a game through the eyes of his favourite player.
“Just imagine how much United could generate from their huge global fanbase if supporters were able to pay to be Marcus Rashford or Bruno Fernandes for 90 minutes?”
And it also said that United’s much-maligned ex-executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward had confirmed to them that AR had been seen as a “huge opportunity” that potentially could have been monetised by the club.
The Glazers also own NFL franchise Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who became the first American football team to utilise AR back in 2016.
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However, the Premier League club have not yet been able to explore potential opportunities due to the use of bodycams in competitive matches being outlawed by IFAB.
Several clubs did trial bodycams during pre-season while Tottenham star Brennan Johnson also wore one for the pre-match warm-up against Wolves in November.
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