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Ruud van Elk, head of sports science and analytics at PSV soccer club indicates that about 31% of a football season is based on luck (ASML, 2022). The Dutch football club from Eindhoven has enlisted the help of multinational ASML to turn the large amounts of data collected during matches and training sessions into valuable insights. Because without humans involved, data are just some numbers (Hendriksen, 2017).

The way players accelerate, manoeuvre, shoot a ball and the time of play…everything influences how a match can be shaped to your liking as a club through data. The earlier quote shows that so about 69% of a season is not based on luck and so that is where we need to make the most of it as a club (ASML, 2022). Football is a massive industry and grew 10% last year to a €27.6 billion industry in Europe (Deloitte, 2022).

Where PSV has engaged ASML to assist them in Data Analytics, it is certainly no exception in Dutch football. Clubs like FC Groningen, Excelsior and AZ also mostly use data to analyse matches, training sessions and everything that happens around them. Further research shows that all clubs at the highest level in the Netherlands are now using data (Hendriksen, 2017).

However, the use of Data Analytics is not limited to within the Dutch borders. In the biggest football league in the world, the English Premier League, data analytics has been used for years to stay ahead of the competition. Top club Liverpool FC has an entire team of world-class scientists and statisticians at its disposal and Manchester United deploys AI models and machine learning to predict and shape the most accurate match analysis. The techniques are not only deployed before or after a match to make analyses. Even during matches, with real-time predictive analysis, players and opponents are analysed. Furthermore, in football, Sports Analytics goes beyond matches; in the areas of prediction, player nutrition, in-game situations, scouting and transfer policy, data have become indispensable (Hornstein, 2022).

In today’s football, we can say that Data Analytics are crucial and clubs that lag in this area will also weaken in league rankings. The BBC therefore aptly headlines; “Data experts are becoming football’s best signings” (Harper, 2021). However, football is still largely a game of luck and quality of players, with an increasing role in technological developments.

REFERENCES

ASML. (2022). ASML’s data analytics team helps improve soccer pitch performance. https://brainporteindhoven.com/nl/nieuws/asmls-data-analytics-team-helps-improve-soccer-pitch-performance

Deloitte. (2022). Annual Review of Football Finance 2022. https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/sports-business-group/articles/annual-review-of-football-finance.html

Harper, J. (2021). Data experts are becoming football’s best signings. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56164159

Hendriksen, R. (2017). Hoe eredivisieclubs gebruik maken van data. Tussendelinies.nl. https://www.tussendelinies.nl/datagebruik-eredivisie/

Hornstein, O. (2022). Premier League: How data has become a football game changer. UK Tech. https://www.uktech.news/big-data/premier-league-football-data-20220805

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For many people, having their own business is just an illusion, a dream that never comes true. But why? People always talk about chasing your dreams, and if that dream involves entrepreneurship, start it up! However, this is not as easy as it seems. Starting a business involves many risks; uncertainty, starting all over again, not having the right skills, not having the right tools. But what if these risks could be mitigated to a large extent so that you could realise your dream?

Until recently, it was almost impossible for people with minimal resources and support to start businesses. However, the newer technologies we have been introduced to over the last few decades have lowered the entry barrier to entrepreneurship (Okano et al., 2022; Tunio et al., 2021).

First, a common reason people do not start as entrepreneurs is a lack of knowledge. The rise and development of the Internet have made it more manageable to develop proficiency in all kinds of areas from home and for free. Platforms such as YouTube, Coursera and Linkedin Learning often offer unrestricted opportunities to circumvent this barrier.

Secondly, the scarcity of the right tools to build a business. In 2022, many entrepreneurs are still unaware of what is possible via the Internet (Altun, 2021). The tools are practically limitless! As a starting entrepreneur with minimal knowledge, you can build websites, develop apps, organise administration & bookkeeping, and quickly connect with fellow entrepreneurs or communities to share experiences and support you (Tunio et al., 2021).

Thirdly, scaling up the business requires funding after a while. There are furthermore more and more initiatives in the funding area made conceivable by the emergence of various technologies. Funding your business with loans, investments or through a crowdfunding platform like Kickstarter was until recently unimaginable for many entrepreneurs (Pathe, 2022).

Entrepreneurship can still be a risky profession and needs some guts and self-confidence. However, technological developments make knowledge, funding, and tools more easily accessible than ever. In addition, technological developments are contributing enormously to rapidly changing industries through the rise of AI, ML, Cloud computing and general digital Transformation (Pathe, 2022).

References

Altun, Y. (2021). Pandemic fuels global growth of entrepreneurship and startup frenzy. Forbes.

Okano, M. T., de Almeida Veiga, O., & Fernandes, M. E. (2022). The Importance of Entrepreneurship in Micro and Small Enterprises in Uncertainty and Barrier Scenarios. International Journal of Business Administration, 13(1).

Pathe, T. (2022). Small Businesses Are Leveraging Technology Solutions To Overcome the Biggest Barriers to Business. FinTech. https://thefintechtimes.com/small-businesses-are-leveraging-technology-solutions-to-overcome-the-biggest-barriers-to-business/

Tunio, M. N., Jariko, M. A., Børsen, T., Shaikh, S., Mushtaque, T., & Brahmi, M. (2021). How entrepreneurship sustains barriers in the entrepreneurial process—A lesson from a developing nation. Sustainability, 13(20), 11419.