As the FIFA World Cup comes to a close, Snapchatters can relive its exciting moments in augmented reality with the last of Snap’s World Cup MENA AR experiences. To bring Snapchatters closer to the football action, Snapchat commissioned four regional AR developers – Mohamad El Asmar from Oman, Saudis Maha Aldosary and brothers Ibrahim Boona and Fahad Mutlaq, to each create three immersive football-inspired AR lenses. The “reflection” lenses allow fans to recreate the fun memories made during the month-long World Cup and share them with friends and fans worldwide.
Mohamad created the “golden goal” lens, which allows users to share their thoughts on the World Cup by answering a series of questions in different templates, which they can customize to their liking. Snapchatters can also attach a photo/video and share snippets of previous Snaps they took or even replay a goal they loved and saved. Maha’s third Lens captures the vibrant team colors and flags donned by fans. A click on the football gets it to spin while colors change in the background to capture the excitement and the lively scenes created in stadiums.
On the other hand, Ibrahim and Fahad’s Lens will take fans back in time where they can predict each match’s winner by swiping through and clicking on the national flags of participating teams.
This World Cup will live long in the memories of MENA fans, not just because it was hosted in the region for the first time, but in the sheer excitement that it was one of the most unpredictable sporting events to take place in recent times. By empowering MENA AR developers and giving them the opportunity to showcase their skills, Snap was able to engage with football fans globally during the world’s biggest sporting event. Snapchatters shared their favorite moments with their loved ones in an immersive AR environment, keeping the spirit of the game alive throughout the tournament.
The “anticipation” lens launched before the tournament captured fans’ enthusiasm for their favorite sport, while the “prediction” lens engaged fans in fun challenges to guess the winners of each game. The final set of lenses – the “reflection lenses”- are now available on Snapchat and will give Snapchatters the opportunity to take a look back and reflect on some of their most memorable moments during the World Cup.
Ibrahim and Fahad as well as Mohammed and Maha’s World Cup lenses were also featured at Snap’s Lens Fest celebration earlier this month. The annual event of the Snapchat community celebrates Snap’s AR creators and developers and is designed to inspire innovation and showcase the power of the Snap AR platform through two days of virtual sessions, workshops, networking, and more.
Snapchat used the first World Cup hosted in the region to empower MENA AR developers by allowing them to showcase their skills and engage with football fans worldwide. This was a demonstration of how Snapchat invests in local talent and provides creators with accessible and easy-to-use AR technology where they can showcase their creativity and innovation potential to the world on a global platform.
