Digital technologies are changing the way we do business all around the world. However, their impact is not only limited to the parts of the day we spend at the office. Digital technologies are omnipresent and are starting to make an appearance in the sports we watch as well. Not only are referee’s decisions being improved by using video-assistant referees (e.g. field hockey) or Hawk-eye systems (e.g. tennis), teams are now making use of excessive amounts of data on their players in order to win more games. In fact, the use of Big Data has helped Germany secure the world cup in 2014.
With football being the most popular sport around the globe (over 4 billion followers), it is no surprise that teams are doing all they can in order to gain an advantage over their opponents (TotalSportek, n.d.). Matches are often won by the tiniest of margins and therefore, all major clubs and countries have started to track data on their players. Metrics, such as heart rate, covered distance, speed, acceleration and shooting power are giving insight to managers as to which athletes are in the best shape and which players are struggling with their fitness. This data is mostly collected during training sessions and supports the manager’s decision making as he is putting together his team (Rejec, n.d.). Next to this, Global Navigation Satellite System data is being used to track player’s movements and corresponding fitness during matches as well, providing managers with even more information that they can use to their advantage (Alger, 2015).
The applications of Big Data within the world of football are not limited to tracking individual player metrics. A number of companies have started to track performance data on all players around the world, including statistics on goals scored, assist given and passes completed. These companies are aiding clubs in scouting new talent and signing the best new players, selected on a wide range of criteria. Clubs now have huge databases at their disposal in which they search and compare virtually all players to see which ones would best fit their squad and what transfer fees they should be looking to pay (IQ, 2015).
Clearly, Big Data is transforming the world of the beautiful game. Training sessions, in-game substitutions, scouting networks and transfer negotiations have already been impacted by the use of data and more areas of the sport are certainly up next. As it has helped Germany win the most prestigious prize of the game, there is no reason for clubs to give up on Big Data.
References:
Alger, K. (2015). Real-time match data set to transform the beautiful game. Retrieved September 20, 2017, from https://www.raconteur.net/technology/in-game-performance-data-is-a-football-first.
IQ. (2015). High-tech football transfers: How big clubs use Big Data to sign the best players. Retrieved September 20, 2017, from https://iq.intel.co.uk/high-tech-football-transfers-how-big-clubs-use-big-data-to-sign-the-best-players/.
Rejec, J. (n.d.). How Big Data is Changing the World of Football. Retrieved September 20, 2017, from https://datafloq.com/read/how-big-data-is-changing-the-world-of-football/1796.
TotalSportek. (n.d.). 25 World’s Most Popular Sports (Ranked by 13 factors). Retrieved September 20, 2017, from http://www.totalsportek.com/most-popular-sports/.
Hi Thomas, thank you for your interesting post!
Although I didn’t hear it before that even metrics of players would be recorded and analysed, I think that this could be a very good decision and will grow in the future. Not only would this be profitable for clubs, but the strong supervision on every player -including their heart rates- would be an extra inspection on their health. In the future, accidents like footballplayer Nouri, who collapsed on the field, may be prevented. These new data methods could expand to other needs, for example older people or to rehabiliter, who need to be analysed on their movements or health issues. I believe we will hear more and more about these data in the future.