The integration of AI in football is revolutionising the way teams prepare for matches, develop strategies, scout players, and monitor injuries. Teams around the world are using AI to analyse immense amounts of data to adapt to opponents play styles, strengths and weaknesses in order to gain a competitive advantage (Sahota, 2024). LA Galaxy and Atalanta United from the MLS are using AI and advanced algorithms to examine players fitness levels and analyse their risk to injury. Additionally, Bayern Munich and Manchester United are using AI to scout young talent globally with algorithms that are even able to predict potential future ability. One of the teams that has been leading the way in the AI transformation is Liverpool FC that have collaborated with Google to create DeepMind’s TacticAI that is able to analyse scenarios and provide optimal player positions and team tactics. The recommendations of TacticAI were preferred by human experts 90% of the time over current tactical set ups (Wang and Veličković, 2024).
The growth of such projects gives a glimpse into the future of sports where AI will be directly involved in making most major decisions. But as the influence of AI continues to grow in football the question then becomes: Is this the kind of future for football that we want?
On one side of the argument with the help of AI we will likely see improvements to teams performances as the algorithms will provide advice that may have been missed by the human eye, raising the standards of football. Coaches will have to spend less time manually examining data and can focus more time dealing with the players directly and making the most of their training sessions.
However, as the capabilities of AI continue to grow is it possible that we will start to see a reduced influence of human coaching on teams tactics? Could there be a tipping point where coaching roles are diminished or at some point replaced by AI controlled algorithms?
As we continue to see the growth of AI there may come a point where we have to step back and think about the essence of football. Will the integration of AI lift up the sport and enhance performance, or will it strip away the human touch that makes football exciting, unpredictable and unique?
References
Wang, Z., & Veličković, P. (2024, March 19). TacticAI: An AI assistant for football tactics. Google DeepMind. Retrieved from https://deepmind.google/discover/blog/tacticai-ai-assistant-for-football-tactics/
Sahota, N. (2024, July 30). Unleashing the power of AI to create a new era in soccer excellence. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilsahota/2024/07/30/unleashing-the-power-of-ai-to-create-a-new-era-in-soccer-excellence/
