Catapult MatchTracker: Redefining Football Performance Analysis

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Image credit: New Zealand X

MatchTracker is a performance analysis software designed to support teams with pre-match preparation, live match analysis, and post-match reviews.

The data software allows clubs to enhance their tactical approach with advanced visuals and simplify the way analysts assess the club’s performance.

Catapult were shortlisted in the Best Tech for Data and Analytics category at the 2023 Sports Technology Awards.

The company were recognised for their product ‘Vector’ that integrates wearable technology with video to provide coaches with contextualised performance insights.

This release was an industry-defining moment, since for the first time athlete performance data from Catapult’s Vector wearable devices syncs with MatchTracker.

This is how the Catapult MatchTracker technology works:

Analyse the Competition

Gain insights into the tactical and technical performance of your opponents with real-time match analysis. Track in-game trends as well as patterns across previous matches to enhance performance analysis, pre-match strategies, and talent scouting.

No Limits

Clubs can import an unlimited number of videos from any source. Whether it’s footage from IP cameras or OB truck feeds, any signal or camera can be integrated into the software and shared across all applications within the network.

Teams can combine video with data such as events, tags, player positioning, and biometrics for a comprehensive view during the match. Pre-recorded videos can also be easily synced with data after the match or session has ended.

Visualisation

MatchTracker’s modules cover opposition analysis, scouting, tactical and technical performance, tempo and pace tracking, and game trend reviews.

Each module offers visualisation tools and customisable dashboards, making it easier to create presentations for coaches and players, or quickly compare teams, matches, and individual performances in a clear and consistent format.

Find Key Game Moments

Customisable automatic alerts enable you to identify crucial moments in the game swiftly. These alerts also introduce new metrics to evaluate performance during post-match analysis.

Automatic Tagging

Create sophisticated templates to streamline the tagging process, with the option to integrate this live with Focus, The Hub, or third-party tagging software.

Share Instantly

Once the game is uploaded, it’s instantly available to all users. You can use the data from the match to build custom workbooks, playlists, and whiteboards, all of which can be easily shared with others on the platform. Additionally, images, videos, and data can be exported in seconds to share with staff, players, or fans.

Conclusion

According to Catapult, MatchTracker is trusted by 70% of Premier League clubs and is used by teams and federations in the top leagues across Europe.

None better than a recent partnership confirmed with Bundesliga Champions Bayer Leverkusen, who kicked off their UCL campaign with a stunning 4-0 victory vs Feyenoord.

Their first team will be using MatchTracker to seamlessly integrate physical performance data with tactical insights through video analysis, helping them elevate match preparation and optimise training programs.

Bayer Leverkusen, under manager Xabi Alonso, achieved the incredible feat of winning the Bundesliga without a loss with an exciting, fast style of football.

He was adamant from the get-go that a statistics-driven approach would be the most efficient way to implement his attacking style of football, and this partnership will utilise the features of MatchTracker to replicate last season’s success.

This technology is the future of data analysis in football and its use by many top professional clubs in Europe in its early years suggests it will be a powerhouse technology for years to come.

As data becomes more and more important in the modern game, a system like this becomes almost essential for top clubs to use in order to succeed and the many case studies completed by these clubs in regards to MatchTracker are extremely positive.

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FMDB Pro aims to streamline football recruitment through data-driven insights

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Image Credit: FMDB Pro

Football recruitment platform FMDB Pro is positioning itself as a tool to help clubs, federations and recruiters make more informed decisions by bringing greater structure and context to the early informal stages of talent identification.

The platform has been developed by Sports Interactive, the same developers who make the Football Manager game.

Supporting, not replacing, traditional scouting

FMDB Pro is designed to support traditional recruiting departments by narrowing the pool of potential signings before traditional scouting processes commence.

Rather than replacing existing channels and scouts, FMDB Pro is intended to complement existing recruitment workflows by allowing clubs to filter players.

Using hundreds of data points, it will help clubs identify prospects that meet specific technical, physical and regulatory requirement.

Powered by Football Manager’s global database

The platform draws on Football Manager’s extensive global database, covering more than 310,000 players across over 200 nations and thousands of competitions.

Users can search by a wide range of criteria, including playing attributes, positional profiles, contract status, injury history, international eligibility and governing body endorsement requirements.

FMDB Pro Business Development Director Michael Fleming said modern recruitment departments often face the challenge of assessing thousands of players across multiple competitions before deciding where to invest valuable scouting resources.

Introducing FMDB Pro | The Starting Point for Smarter Recruitment
FMDB Pro draws on Football Manager’s extensive global database. Image Credit: FMDB Pro

Streamlining the recruitment process

The platform aims to reduce that workload by providing recruiting teams with a stronger information base on each player.

This enables more specific scouting and reducing the time spent evaluating unsuitable candidates.

In addition to player data, FMDB Pro incorporates benchmarking tools, market valuations and recruitment reports to help clubs compare players across leagues and identify prospects who best fit their recruitment strategy.

According to Sports Interactive, the objective is not to replace human decision-making, but to improve the efficiency of the recruitment process.

By giving clubs better information earlier in the talent identification cycle, the process can be streamlined and make human decision-making easier.

Growing role of technology in football

As clubs continue to embrace analytics and technology across football operations, platforms such as FMDB Pro reflect the growing role of data in modern recruitment, where combining traditional scouting with advanced analysis has become an increasingly important part of identifying and securing talent.

FMDB Pro has already partnered with a number of clubs across Europe, including Newcastle United, AS Monaco and Dinamo Zagreb.

Google expands football footprint with AI partnerships at five European giants

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Image Credit: Paris Sain- Germain

Google has announced long-term partnerships with five of Europe’s biggest football clubs.

Expanding the role of artificial intelligence in fan engagement through collaborations with Arsenal, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Liverpool and PSG.

Google Gemini will become each club’s official consumer AI Partner, while Google Pixel will serve as the official smartphone partner.

The partnerships are designed to deliver AI-powered match insights, personalised fan experiences and exclusive behind-the-scenes content across the clubs’ digital platforms.

Supporters will be able to use Gemini to access tactical insights, historical statistics and match analysis while Pixel devices will be used by club media teams to capture content through the company’s “Shot on Pixel” initiative.

A key component of the partnership is the commitment to increasing the visibility of women’s football.

Google confirmed the agreements cover both men’s and women’s teams, with AI tools and Pixel technology set to help produce content and expand the reach of the women’s game through club media channels.

The announcement continues Google’s growing investment in football technology.

Google initially had individual agreements with several of the clubs, including PSG and Liverpool.

By bringing the partnerships together under the Gemini and Pixel brands, Google is positioning artificial intelligence as a core part of the modern football fan experience rather than simply a commercial sponsorship.

For football clubs, the collaboration highlights a broader industry trend towards technology partnerships that extend beyond branding.

AI is increasingly being used to produce personalised content, deliver deeper match analysis and strengthen engagement with large global audiences.

Clubs continue to invest in these growing digital platforms alongside their traditional commercial portfolios.

The partnerships also reinforce the growing intersection between football and technology, with leading clubs increasingly working alongside global technology companies to enhance supporter experiences and explore new ways of connecting with fans on matchday and beyond.

 

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