For the first post-COVID Olympics, there are some major changes now in place at the Paris 2024 Games. First of all, there are no physical tickets for visitors. All tickets are digital, but spectators can separately purchase an additional paper souvenir ticket for their event. While this is significantly a COVID legacy, it's also a sign of the times, as more of the Olympic Games moves into the digital world. If we dig deeper, we see how the DNA of this transformation is a story about data and its expansion – and how the ability of the Olympics to grow economically relies on it being harnessed and exploited. As AI steadily changes the strategic positioning of all aspects of life, the sports world has rapidly begun a similar journey.

FIFA deducted six points from Canada in the Paris Olympics women's football tournament and banned three coaches for one year each in a drone spying scandal. The stunning swath of punishments, announced late on Saturday, includes a 200,000-Swiss-franc ( 226,000) fine for the Canadian football federation in a case that has spiralled at the Summer Games. Two assistant coaches were caught using drones to spy on opponent New Zealand's practices before their opening game on Wednesday. Head coach Bev Priestman, who led Canada to the Olympic title in Tokyo in 2021, already was suspended by the national football federation and then removed from the Olympic tournament. She is now banned from all football by FIFA for one year.