01-07-2025
English Premier League integrates Microsoft AI into fan app in new 5-year deal
The English Premier League is bringing artificial intelligence to the soccer pitch through a new partnership with Microsoft.
The five-year agreement will integrate Microsoft's Copilot AI into the English Premier League app, offering fans access to more than 300,000 articles, 9,000 videos and statistics from the league dating back to its founding in 1992.
Future iterations of the technology will translate text and audio into a user's native language and will enhance the digital Fantasy Premier League offerings.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
"This partnership will help us engage with fans in new ways — from personalized content to real-time match insights," Richard Masters, English Premier League CEO, said in a news release.
The English Premier League is widely seen as the most prestigious soccer organization in the world and is the most-watched, airing matches in 189 countries and reaching 900 million homes globally, according to the league.
"By leveraging our secure cloud and AI technologies — including Azure AI Foundry Services with Azure OpenAI, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and Dynamics 365 — we will transform how football is experienced, delivered, and managed on and off the field," Judson Althoff, executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Microsoft, said in a statement.
Under the partnership, Microsoft is also becoming the league's cloud computing partner after a previous contract with Oracle ended.
The English Premier League season begins Aug. 15. Before that, fans can watch the Premier League Summer Series, a tournament of "friendly," or exhibition, matches, from July 26 to Aug. 3 in the U.S. The first matches will be held at MetLife Stadium near New York City with Everton facing AFC Bournemouth and Manchester United facing West Ham United.
