Wasam Alrashidi

At the start of this year, I decided to take part in my city’s football community for the first time. In our city, there are 12 football clubs, and each streams its matches using phone cameras on Instagram. None of the clubs were streaming on YouTube, so I thought this could be a great idea to work on.

Getting Started 🔦

Before sharing my idea with the team I support, I spent time learning about YouTube streaming. I didn’t want to suggest something that wasn’t practical—it would have been embarrassing! 😂 So, I started researching the tools, cameras, devices, plugins, and costs needed for streaming.

I quickly realized that professional cameras and equipment were too expensive, costing hundreds or even thousands of Rials. I knew it wouldn’t make sense to ask the club to buy them right away. Instead, I decided to come up with a low-cost solution. My plan was to show that the idea could work with basic equipment first. If it succeeded, we could later convince the higher managers to invest in better tools.

Pitching the Idea 👥

After testing a few demo streams, I shared my idea with the team’s media manager and his assistant. I was nervous because I didn’t know how they would react, but they ended up loving it! They even said they had been thinking about streaming on YouTube for over a year but didn’t know how to get started. So, I came at the right time.

Testing and Experimenting 📊

We began testing different ways to connect a phone camera to a computer. Each method had its good and bad points, and some problems didn’t have any solution at all. In the end, we decided to use a social media platform to connect the camera to the streaming software. It was simple but got the job done.

Our First Streams 📡

With this setup, we streamed six matches: one friendly game and five official matches. You can click here to watch the games.

Challenges We Faced ⚠

During the streams, we ran into several challenges:

Camera Stability: Phone cameras sometimes struggled to stay steady, especially during action-packed moments.

Streaming Quality: It was tricky to find a balance between good video quality and a stable stream.

Internet Issues: Live streaming needs a strong internet connection, and weak bandwidth caused interruptions.

Battery Life: Phones drained quickly, and this could disrupt the stream.

Camera Placement: Poor camera positions missed important moments or had players blocking the view.

Limited Zoom: Phone cameras couldn’t zoom in well, making it hard to capture distant action.

Device Limitations: Not all phones supported the latest apps or features for streaming.

Team Communication: Misunderstandings between team members caused a few mistakes during the streams.

Evaluation 💯

To be honest, I’d rate this project a 3 out of 10. There were a lot of problems during the streams. My biggest mistake was thinking that streaming from mobile phones would be enough. In the early stages, I tested the setup indoors, and it worked fine, so I assumed it would work just as well on the pitch. But I was wrong. Since this was our first attempt, I see it as a learning experience. It’s an opportunity to improve and do better next time.

What I Learned 🌟

This experience taught me so much. I learned about streaming technology, teamwork, and solving problems on the spot. Most importantly, I realized that I can do even bigger things if I keep working hard and improving. This was just the beginning for me, and I’m excited to keep learning and growing in the future!