IFK fans get ticket as chip in their hand

Fans of IFK Kristianstad can now carry their favourite team under their skin.

Literally.

The Swedish club has introduced a revolutionary season ticket in the form of a RFID chip, the latest addition to a string of innovations that has reached the VELUX EHF Champions League recently.

The VELUX EHF FINAL4 in May saw the introduction of the iBall, with game-changing tracking technology enabling the distribution of match data in real time.

In September, Elverum coach Michael Apelgren used a specially prepared microphone for one-way communication with Norway national team coach Christian Berge in the stands during Elverum’s game against Orlen Wisla Plock.

With a single prick of a needle, the chip is implanted in the hand

And now, fans of IFK Kristianstad are likely the first handball spectators in the world who can carry their season ticket under their skin.

With a single prick of a needle, a small chip is implanted in the hand. The chip will be scanned at the entrances of the Kristianstad Arena, granting access to the match. The chip is no bigger than a rice corn.

“We have hired a professional piercer from Malmö to implant these so-called RFID chips,” says revenue manager Joel Wedberg from the Kristianstad Arena.

While Kristianstad had an average attendance of 4,481 spectators at their home games last season, Wedberg expects that initially about 50 spectators will be carrying their season ticket this way. But he has much higher expectations on a longer term as the chip can be used for various other purposes as well.

“The idea is to change all season tickets into RFID chips to prevent them from being shabby and worn from daily use,” Wedberg says. “We will also start building the chips into team shirts. Our fans are very proud of wearing the orange colour.”

"My mother was a bit more sceptical than I was"

While IFK Kristianstad might be the first handball club to offer their fans this opportunity, the innovation is not completely new to the world of sports.

Argentine football club CA Tigre, for instance, has been implanting RFID chips with match tickets in fans’ hands and arms since 2016. And American NHL team Tampa Bay Lightning is selling season tickets as a chip integrated in a fan jersey of the club.

Wedberg himself has been wearing a chip for a year and half now.

“Since then, I have been working a lot on this subject, professionally as well as in my spare time,” he says. “It can be used on basically everything: doors, locks, access systems, etc. Since I have been pierced with my own chip, I have no keys for my home anymore. I simply use my chip.”

Some Kristianstad fans have already embraced the new system.

“I have had no reason to regret it,” IFK supporter Tim Hansson told Swedish radio. “My mother was a bit more sceptical than I was, but I can understand her. You can do so many things these days that you could not do only a few years ago. But I see no reason to worry.”