Over the past month, the world’s eyes have been firmly fixed on one of the biggest sporting events: the football World Cup.
The biggest ever, it took place across Mexico, Canada and the United States, with the final taking place on Sunday, 18 July: Spain and Argentina will be competing for the famous trophy, the final two teams left from a pool of 48.
Held every four years, the event is the showpiece event in the footballing calendar, with billions watching worldwide, and millions attending games in some stadiums that house tens of thousands of fans. The seating towers high into the sky to accommodate everyone with a ticket.
While the stadiums don’t yet have Auracast installed as standard – we’re only aware of a rugby stadium in New Zealand so far – the potential of Bluetooth LE Broadcast Audio is huge. As we have documented before, venues could offer home and away commentary, audio description tracks, the opportunity to hear the referee’s comments, and stadium announcements.
The recent Auracast installation at Brighton Station shows that large, noisy spaces mean users can benefit from the technology. Railway stations are large, busy and very open – similar to stadiums where a lot is happening at the same time. For those who want a bit of a boost in hearing what is going on around them, Auracast is certainly a good solution.
As a proof of concept, Bettear took its RTX transceivers to the United States and tested them at the Gillette Stadium. Away from football, it is home to the American Football team the New England Patriots, and also hosts concerts. All of which would benefit from Auracast commentaries.
The venue welcomed nearly 64,000 football fans for the quarter-final game, held on Thursday, 9 July. Among them were representatives of Bettear. They were there to watch the game; they also took the opportunity to test Bettear’s RTX transceiver. This is the unit loaned to people visiting a venue who do not have Auracast-enabled hearables.
Unlike other receiver units, the RTX can be turned into a transmitter by flicking a switch and plugging in a microphone. This setup is impressive and was used in our tour of the EUHA exhibition area last autumn, as we documented here: https://aurahear.com/2025/10/euha-2025-auracast-integral/
It’s a simple and elegant way to ensure any event can use Auracast to broadcast a speaker’s audio, and it works well for tours in venues such as museums or conferences where there is no installed Auracast but people need to hear.
And it can also help with conversations in noisy places … such as football stadiums.
For this impromptu test, one RTX transceiver was equipped with a microphone and the second with wired headphones. The Bettear team were in the stands along with thousands of other spectators, and simply tried it out. The results were impressive.
In a post on social media, Bettear’s business development manager Ariel Caner noted: “Auracast was officially put to the test in a packed World Cup quarter-final, powered by Bettear’s unique RTX transceiver. The verdict? Crystal-clear reception, even with tens of thousands of screaming fans.”
While this was a successful test, it wasn’t the first time Auracast had been tested on-the-fly at a big football match.
Ariel continued: “This wasn’t a one-off. We proved it last May at the UEFA Champions League final in Munich’s Allianz Arena München Stadion GmbH, again at the Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF)l final in Rabat’s Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in January 2026 – and now on football’s biggest stage in Boston.”
He is hoping – as are we – that stadiums will start to install Auracast to make matchdays a better experience for everyone. After all, it’s not just those with hearing aids and Cochlear implants who will want to hear commentary, and Auracast also helps those who need audio description. When set up correctly, there is no need to sit in a special area, as the Auracast signal will carry throughout the stadium.
Ariel wrote: “If a packed stadium can’t break the signal, it’s time for a serious conversation. FIFA and UEFA: it’s time to nudge stadiums to upgrade their PA systems to include Auracast streaming… The tech is ready. The fans are ready. Over to you, stadium operators.”
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