OVERVIEW
RTS covers every major football competition with a full digital offering. Euro 2024 demonstrated exceptional engagement potential: +223% website visits and +78% mobile app visits compared to the rest of the year. Building on these learnings and a user study conducted during the 2025 Women's Euro, this project aims to design an experience worthy of the 2026 World Cup.
I contributed across the full design process, from audience data analysis and user research to final interface design. My work spanned user journey mapping, information architecture, UI component design for both the website and the app, and coordination with editorial and technical teams.
BORAD AUDIANCES
The RTS app is no longer a sports-only product. It now serves a broad audience, a significant share of whom have no interest in football. The World Cup is a landmark global event that deserves strong visibility but that presence must not alienate users who simply don't care about it. Finding the right balance between enough exposure for fans and acceptable restraint for everyone else is one of the most delicate UX trade-offs in this project.
A user study conducted during the 2025 Women's Euro (diary study + AttrakDiff) revealed that the RTS experience was seen as functionally solid, but too conventional and not emotionally engaging enough. These insights directly shaped the design proposals: foregrounding emotion, giving voice to player stories, incorporating younger audiences' perspectives, and exploring immersive formats. Emotional engagement cannot be solved by design alone. While the interface provides the structure, it is the editorial team's role to bring it to life
VISIBLE, NOT INTRUSIVE
The response to the mixed-audience challenge is built on a two-level architecture: a complete, self-contained World Cup page on one side, and a few carefully placed entry points from the home screen on the other. Most of the FIFA content is centralised in a dedicated page news, schedule, results, highlightd. The home screen simply signals the event without imposing it: a few well-placed entry points are enough to make the World Cup visible for those who want it, without transforming the experience for those who don't.
TOUCHPOINTS
Onboarding - Three days before the World Cup kicks off, a dedicated splash screen appears at app launch. This single moment is designed as a turning point: the user knows the event is imminent, and the app invites them to personalise their experience before the competition even begins.
Event banner - Ten days before kick-off, a FIFA World Cup 2026 banner appears at the top of both the app and the website. It features a real-time countdown to build excitement and signal the upcoming event to regular users. Designed as a non-blocking contextual element, it sits within the content flow without disrupting standard navigation. When the competition begins, the banner switches to an active mode and becomes the direct entry point to the official World Cup page.
SCHEDULE
Calendar banner - At the top of the World Cup page, a dedicated banner displays the competition schedule and provides direct access to all matches. It gives users immediate orientation upon landing: knowing where the competition stands, which match is coming up, and which one just finished. Placing the schedule first answers the most immediate need of a sports user: locating themselves within the competition. This reduces the number of taps needed to find the next match.
DESIGN
Pronos banner - acts as a subtle entry point into the tournament experience. Displayed before and during key matches, it directs users to the RTS prediction platform, where they can predict results, compete with friends, and engage with the event through a social, gamified experience.
Video player - redesigned for major live events, allowing users to follow matches with all the convenience expected from a modern viewing experience. Alongside core viewing features, a real-time timeline highlights key moments goals, cards, major actions enabling users to instantly jump to the most important parts of the match in a single tap.
NAVIGATION
The World Cup page is structured around four tabs, each corresponding to a distinct user intent and consumption moment. From quickly checking a score to diving into competition highlights.
News - All editorial content from the competition; articles, reports, last videos gathered in one place. Designed for users who follow the event over time and want to stay informed beyond just scores.
Live - Full schedule of all competition matches, with the option to set a reminder and receive a notification at kick-off. This feature addresses a key user behaviour: not wanting to miss a match without having to monitor the time themselves.
NAVIGATION
Results - A consolidated view of all match results, alongside group tables and live standings. Designed for quick, often mobile, often contextual consultation, on public transport, during a break.
Highlight - Video swimlanes organised by content type; match recaps, best moments, top plays, enabling fast, targeted consumption. Designed for users who missed a match and want to catch the key moments in just a few minutes.
