Fascinating Ways Big Data Is Reshaping The Future of Football
The world of football is big business, and the future of football is changing. It is an industry that saw a big boom 25 years ago, thanks to the amount of money that was spent by television companies who were craving live content for their channels.
This boom has shown no signs of slowing down over the next few decades. Millions have been paid by media giants. Those have now turned into billions. Due to this, it has meant that the clubs involved have received huge swathes of money.
Unfortunately, it hasn’t always been spent efficiently. A lot of money has been spent on eye-watering transfer fees. However, it’s not just financial inducements that are helping the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool compete at the top, there has also been another revolution in the game.
One that comes in the form of data. It’s not just about tactical systems and making sure that the players you buy are the right for your team, it is about getting the best out of the new signing that could cost somewhere in the region of £50m.
This is where the reams of analytics that are now available to clubs such as the ones competing in the Premier League. Thanks to the emergence of tools such as ProZone or companies such as Opta, the football landscape has changed forever.
This is where big data is going to play a huge role. In 2015, Forbes published an article on the ways that big data is helping the football industry. The industry seems to have invested even more heavily in big data since.
Football is one of the few industries still growing in the UK alongside tech-heavy industries such as online gaming and the rise of slots websites despite much higher increase in compliance, but like gaming, will football prove that it can continue to grow continuously?
It took a while to pick up momentum, but data is changing the future of the industry. Most of the ‘old-school’ coaches viewed the use of analytics in football with skepticism. This was especially true in scouting.
However, even industry veterans recognize that traditional scouting doesn’t cut it anymore. Now it is all about making more informed decision and that is where the use of data plays a huge part.
Everton was under the stewardship of former manager David Moyes, after joining the club from Championship outfit Preston the now 55-year-old had the foresight to revolutionize his scouting department. Moyes changed the industry in a fascinating way around the same time the computer game franchise ‘Football Manager’ was doing big business.
The huge player database that was created, powered by an army of researchers around the globe that fed back the information to the game’s creators Sega. It then played the role of the best scout on the planet.
Moyes identified that this huge amount of player data could give Everton a real leg up in the transfer market and it is something that you would have to believed bore fruit as the Merseyside club finished 4 in the Premier League in 2005.
