While social media can be platforms for discussing political issues, also serving as barometers for how a nation is dealing with a significant event, one of its more popular applications comes to the fore during big sporting occasions. According to Facebook, there’s an estimated 650 million sport fans out there using its platform. That's a lot of potential customers, which is why the launch of the company's new Sports Stadium Hub should come as no surprise. 

It's described as a dedicated digital space for fans to experience sports events in real-time. The Facebook Sports Hub will cover all the relevant news and happenings around specific events, with the current NFL play-offs being the platform's first testing ground. 

The Sports Hub will work in a number of ways, with the ability to watch the game unfold with each play via a dedicated timeline in-app. Users can also comment on and interact with one another on individual plays. With so many sporting events happening, users will also be able to search for the one that interests them via the Facebook app. They also be able to search for which TV channels are broadcasting the game in their specific location, as well as add commentary from broadcasters and journalists to their own personalised stream. 

The Sports Hub is limited to iOS users in the United States at this stage, but Facebook says it plans to add more sports like soccer (the real football) in coming months to make the HUB more globally appealing.