Page 52 of the May 2013 matchday programme offers a fascinating glimpse into the early days of football’s digital gamification. Taking up the entire page is an advertisement for Pingel (Dutch slang for a penalty kick), proudly marketed as “Dé nieuwe voetbalgame voor jou en je vrienden!” (The new football game for you and your friends!).
Backed by the Eredivisie and the VriendenLoterij, this mobile trivia game was a concerted effort to capture the “second screen” attention of fans. The visual design of the ad is a pure tech time capsule: it features an early-generation iPad and iPhone, complete with thick black bezels, physical home buttons, and the glossy, skeuomorphic app design that defined the pre-iOS 7 era. The screen displays a classic trivia question: “Which club never played against Manchester United in a European context?” (The options being Ajax, Willem II, PSV, and FC Twente). By placing this ad in the physical programme, the league was actively trying to bridge the gap between the analog tradition of reading a booklet and the emerging habit of staring at a smartphone during halftime.
A Look into the Future
By 2026, the concept of a standalone, league-sponsored trivia app like Pingel feels incredibly quaint. Today, fan engagement is seamlessly integrated directly into official club apps, featuring live augmented reality (AR) statistics, in-stadium micro-betting, and instant video replays. The clunky smartphones depicted in this 2013 advertisement have been replaced by edge-to-edge displays, but the core ambition remains the same: keeping the fan’s eyes locked on the club’s ecosystem, even when the ball isn’t rolling on the pitch.