Arturo Martin

FIFA Play Zone

Overview

FIFA+ is FIFA’s global digital platform designed to connect football fans and build meaningful relationships with supporters of the game.

It engages millions of users through live matches, documentaries, editorial content, and importantly, interactive experiences.

FIFA+ Play Zone sits at the centre of this strategy as a dedicated gamification hub, designed to attract, engage, and retain fans at scale.

Powered by Genius Sports, the platform brings together a suite of free-to-play games, including Fantasy, Predictor, and Daily Play experiences, particularly during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™.

At its core, Play Zone is not just a collection of games, but a gamified engagement system built to drive long-term user retention and create a valuable, monetisable audience.

Objective

While FIFA+ offers a wide range of free content, its long-term success depends on converting anonymous users into registered, engaged fans.

This required a clear value exchange: users provide their data in return for engaging, personalised experiences.

FIFA+ Play Zone was designed to support three key objectives:

Drive user registrations by encouraging fans to sign up through compelling, interactive experiences
Increase engagement before, during, and after major events, especially around the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™
Deliver commercial value by creating new opportunities for sponsors (in this case, Hyundai, Crypto, Budweiser, etc) through interactive experiences

The challenge was to design a platform that could scale globally while remaining simple, engaging, and rewarding for a wide range of users.

Problem

Despite high traffic driven by major tournaments, engagement across sports platforms is often short-lived and event-driven. Users typically drop off once matches end, with limited reasons to return regularly.

Additionally, traditional gamification systems often fail because they:

Lack meaningful personalisation
Rely on shallow reward systems
Do not create sustainable engagement habits

Problem Statement

FIFA+ needed a scalable way to convert passive, event-driven users into consistently engaged participants, while also supporting registration growth and long-term retention.

Design Challenge

How might we create a gamified platform that encourages daily interaction, feels personalised to each user, and delivers both user value and commercial impact?

Strategy & Design Thinking

From the outset, the Play Zone was designed as a continuous engagement system, not just a feature.

Core Loop

Play → Earn → Personalise → Compete → Return

Key Strategic Decisions

1. Prioritise lightweight, repeatable interactions

Instead of complex game mechanics, the focus was on quick-to-play experiences, low friction entry, and high frequency usage.

Trade-off: Simpler interactions risk feeling less immersive, but significantly improve scalability and repeat engagement.

2. Build a strong gamification layer

The experience is unified through levels, badges, trophies, and daily challenges.

Why: Progression systems create habit-forming behaviour and long-term motivation.

3. Design for personalisation at scale

Each user sees a customised Play Zone dashboard with game ordering based on behaviour and contextual prompts.

Trade-off: Increased system complexity versus significantly higher engagement and relevance.

4. Integrate social and competitive elements

Leaderboards and shared challenges increase retention and session frequency.

The result is a platform that feels dynamic, relevant, and rewarding every time a user returns.

Core Features

1. Personalised Play Zone Dashboard

A dynamic lobby tailored to each user’s preferences and activity, increasing relevance and reducing decision friction.

2. Suite of Interactive Games

Fantasy Classic, Predictor, and Daily Fantasy, Goalscorer Challenge, Who am I?, encouraging frequent, lightweight interaction.

3. Gamification Layer (Levels, Badges, Trophies)

A unified progression system across all experiences, building long-term engagement and habit formation.

4. Daily Challenges & Contextual Prompts

Encourage users to return and complete specific actions, driving consistent engagement beyond live events.

5. Sponsor & Partner Integrations

Interactive activations embedded within the experience, creating commercial value without disrupting the user experience. Among the sponsors and brands I had the pleasure to work on 2022 were: Visa, Hyundai, and Crypto.