There’s seemingly no limit to what technology can do. And while we’ve all been stuck at home for the past year, experience-deprived, the joys of live sport have been difficult to replicate.

To give fans a feel for what football’s return will be like, EE worked with UNIT9 to create the world’s first AR foosball tournament at Wembley. EE created a mobile game that transformed the stadium’s turf into a real-time 5G AR foosball table.

Team Yellow, captained by Peter Crouch and including Joe Cole, Chelcee Grimes, James Haskell and Lia Lewis emerged victorious in the dramatic head-to-head mobile showdown beating Gareth Southgate’s Team Aqua.

Sam Kemp, Products and Devices Technology Director at EE said: “It’s Wembley like you’ve never played it before, just ask Gareth! Through the power of technology, we’ve transformed the turf into an immersive experience that demonstrates the power of 5G, dusting off our boots to show how our network can be used to create next-level experiences for our customers.”

Experiences like this are a reminder of the power of technology to both connect and entertain, to reassure sports fans that the stadiums are there waiting to be played. For now, the beauty of technology can take us there.