Designing the AI-powered sports engagement platform for the 2026 World Cup
ZonaMundial is our flagship product: a platform that combines artificial intelligence, gamification, and live streaming to create the ultimate football fan experience during the 2026 World Cup.
ZonaMundial — Hero Image
Goal
Build a platform that wasn't just 'another football app,' but a complete ecosystem where fans could predict match outcomes, compete in fantasy leagues, receive AI-powered personalized coaching, and watch live streaming -- all in one place with a seamless, addictive experience.
The Challenge
The biggest challenge was integrating AI models in real time. The AI Coach needed to analyze live match data, generate personalized insights, and respond to thousands of users simultaneously with no noticeable latency. On top of that, the platform had to scale for traffic spikes during key World Cup matches -- potentially millions of concurrent connections.
Outcome
A serverless platform built with Next.js and Supabase, capable of auto-scaling on demand. The AI Coach uses OpenAI models fine-tuned on historical sports data, achieving 95% satisfaction in user tests. The gamification system maintains a 72% daily retention rate in beta testing.
Research & Architecture
We started with an exhaustive analysis of the sports app market. We studied the weaknesses of competitors like OneFootball, FotMob, and FanCode. We identified that no platform integrated conversational AI + fantasy + streaming into a single experience. We designed an event-driven architecture capable of processing thousands of events per second during live matches.
Experience Design
The design centered on three pillars: immediacy (quick access to what matters), personalization (the AI learns your preferences), and community (compete with friends). We created a complete design system with 80+ components, native dark mode, and micro-animations that make the interface feel alive and responsive.
AI Coach Development
The AI Coach is the key differentiator. We trained models on historical data from 50,000+ matches, player statistics, and tactical patterns. The result is an assistant that can analyze a live match, suggest smart bets, explain tactics, and hold natural conversations about football with expert-level knowledge.
Scalability & Launch
We deployed Vercel edge functions to distribute the load globally. The streaming system uses WebRTC with HLS fallback. The Supabase database with row-level security ensures each user has their own secure space. Currently in closed beta with 500+ testers ahead of the public launch planned for Q1 2026.