Playermaker: Innovation of data tracking technology

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Image via Playermaker website

Playermaker is the world’s only foot-worn data tracking device that allows coaches to gather real-time data from each individual player using the devices sensor strapped to their boot.

Playermaker is a sports technology company that was founded in 2017 by Guy Aharon & Yuval Odem who formerly served in the Israeli Defensive Forces.

Playermaker offers sports technology products that are designed to provide valuable data and insights to players, coaches, and teams.

It enables users of all skill levels to measure to seamlessly access a range of data points that can pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of their game.

Teams in particular can gain a deeper insight into the development of their players using the in-depth statistics that the Playermaker provides.

The company has partnered with hundreds of elite clubs and federations worldwide including a partnership with current Premier League champions Manchester City.

Playermaker is FIFA approved and is the first athlete performance monitoring system to successfully complete the challenge set by the FIFA Innovation Program, gaining the EPTS FIFA Quality certificate.

About CityPlay

Using their partnership with Manchester City, Playermaker also released ‘CityPlay’ that combines Playermaker technology with Manchester City’s Player development methodology.

The app is designed to help your child develop and involves many interesting features that can keep parents or coaches on top of their performances like never before.

Measuring over 25 metrics, CityPlay provides the most relevant data for creating training programs, benchmarking performance and tracking progress. With the metrics that matter you can set goals, measure progress, analyse performance and improve easier and faster.

There is also an option to watch personalised in-app videos from Manchester City coaches and experts to help accelerate your child’s progress.

How it works:

6-Axis Motion Smart Sensors

Built with a gyroscope and accelerometer that samples movement events at 1000 times/sec, which allows the measurement of every micro-movement, including impact with the ground, with the ball and the rotation of each foot.

Strong but seamless straps

Two waterproof sensors (L+R) located inside the durable silicone straps, suitable for all playing conditions. The straps comes in 2 sizes (M / L), to fit kids adults, women and men alike.

Training Highlights

Tracks 15+ football specific metrics including touches, total distance, kicking power, sprint distance and intense turns.

This helps users examine their training performance using the different metrics to help them improve for matchday.

Match Skill Scores with others worldwide

There are three Match Score Factors: Age, Gender and Position.

Scores range from 40-99 for each skill. A score of 99 indicates your performance placed in the top 5% of your segment, while a score of 40 indicates the same, but for the bottom 5%.

This allows players to compare their statistics and scores in each metric with others in the same category to suggest where the player needs the most improvement.

Proprietary Rating System

An objective skills rating system, that covers both physical and technical abilities, obtained during
real world scenarios of match play.

1. Objective, AI-based measurements of both physical and technical skills
2. During in-game situations, without interference
3. Developed using global age and gender benchmarks

Other Features

  • Requires no infrastructure, Wi-Fi or GPS signal to collect data
  • Bluetooth operated Device to sync the data
  • Track your progress over time using trends of past stats that have been recorded

Sky is the limit for Playermaker’s device, and the technology can certainly be adapted in other sports, however the company is currently focusing on maintaining its excellent growth in football.

As the company has expanded in the football industry, it is providing the world stage with incredible innovation that can help clubs of all levels with talent identification, analysis and tactical insights.

The company is yet to partner with an A-League club and there is a huge opportunity for a club in Australia to enhance their data tracking and analysis systems.

As the league starts to prioritise talent identification and player development over the influx of failed marquees, using this technology is a perfect way to improve in that aspect and delve deeper to potentially produce more talented Australian footballers.

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PFA Annual Report Highlights Key Concerns for A-League Players

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Image credit: Professional Footballers Australia

The Professional Footballers Association (PFA) have released their 2024 Annual A-League Men’s report. This analysis has highlighted key successful areas of last season and importantly areas of growth in the league.

This review uses a wide range of data but importantly uses a strong player-based approach.

A key tool for data collection for this report is the A-League Men’s end-of-season survey conducted voluntarily online between May 7-31, 2024. This survey received 191 player responses, a record number with at least 13 players from each club.

The survey provides a comprehensive and representative source of player insights for policymakers, offering robust comparisons across the league.

Categorised below are some key factors of the report.

International Benchmarking

The Twenty-First Group’s World Super League model provides insights into the A-League Men’s (ALM) competitive positioning.

The analysis employed a machine learning approach, rating team strengths based on performance and player movements from ten relevant leagues over six seasons. The ALM ranks eighth among these competitions as a second-tier Asian league.

The salary cap system contributes to the consistent team strengths, with a slight overall decline in score over six years likely attributed to league expansion. Despite this, the ALM’s league ranking remained stable.

From a player development perspective, the analysis offers guidance for international transfers to leagues that offer promising development pathways for Australian players looking to progress in their international careers.

Transfer Revenue

The Australian A-League Men (ALM) has experienced a remarkable transformation in its transfer market dynamics as a significant talent production and export market over recent years.

In 2024, ALM clubs received at least $17.5 million in transfer fees, with the total value potentially exceeding $20 million, significantly up from the approx. $10 million in 2023 and the $2.5 million average in past seasons.

This growth represents a fundamental shift in the domestic men’s football economy. For the first time, transfer revenue is now surpassing broadcast revenue.

In the context of the broader market, while ALM revenues have grown quickly, they remain a fraction of those in slightly more advanced leagues.

AFC Club Competitions

Previously, AFC competitions were often more costly than beneficial.

However, in the new 3-tier continental club competitions for 2024, the AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE) qualifying for the eight-match group stage guarantees $1.23m, with an additional $150k per win. Champions can earn at least $18.5m.

The ACL2, Which CC Mariners won last season, provides $462k for group stage participation and $77k per win, with champions potentially earning up to $5m. ALM clubs receive one berth in both the top two tiers.

Under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, players will receive an increasing share of prize money from the Round of 16 onwards.

Player Profiles

The PFA conducted a comprehensive analysis of match minutes across six leagues: A-League Men (ALM), J1 League, K League 1, MLS, Scottish Premiership, and Belgian Pro League.

The analysis revealed that Australian and Belgian leagues stood out, with over 10% of match minutes played by under 20s, compared to less than 5% in the other four competitions.

The introduction of scholarship players outside the salary cap has notably reduced the league’s average age, emphasizing its commitment to youth development.

Attendance

Average attendance for regular season matches has increased to 8,076 from 7,553 in 2022-23, but crowds have still not recovered to their pre-COVID levels.

Excluding the lowest attended teams of Western United and Macarthur FC the average attendance last season was 9,232, 14% higher than the 8,076 overall average.

Though the overall bias against crowd attendance can be assumed to be not as prevalent as people think, identifying this can help deal with the situations that hinder attendance.

Competitive balance

Competitive balance overall was strong with 7% of matches featuring a margin of four or more goals and 7% decided by three goals.

There was a tight race for the top 6 and the bottom two teams from 2022-23, Macarthur and Melbourne Victory, both made the finals, demonstrating the strong competitive balance of the ALM across seasons.

CBA Progress

Total player payments were around $57.8m in 2023-24, down slightly from the all-time high of $58.8m the previous season with the average payments per club being around $4.8m. This was well above the salary cap of $2.6m.

The vast majority of exempt payments from the cap were those to Marquee and Designated players. The average spend on Scholarship Players was just under $300k per club.

This report describes how revenues from transfer fees and a more lucrative AFC Champions League present new financial opportunities for our clubs.

Player Perceptions

According to the PFA end-of-season survey, 50% of ALM players were dissatisfied and 27% were very dissatisfied with how APL has performed in its management of the competition.

46% of players had ‘low trust’ in APL regarding developing a vision to improve the league.

The PFA was rated highest by the players, with 91% satisfied with its performance regarding ALM and 64% having high trust in the PFA to develop a vision.

In issues of the league, trajectory players outlined fan core experience as a centre stage with more than half including Broadcast (58%) and Atmosphere (51%) in their top three with Visibility and Branding/Marketing coming in second.

Workplace Safety

The PFA end-of-season survey uncovered concerning findings regarding the safety of ALM players’ workplaces.

11% of ALM players felt their club environment was either physically or psychologically unsafe and one in five players (20%) said they or a team-mate were unwilling to discuss issues with coaching staff and 16% with club management. 7% of players reported instances of players being forced to train alone at their clubs.

Though only a few clubs were reported on this, is still regarded as an industry issue.

Extreme weather

Last season one in six ALM matches was impacted by extreme weather with extreme heat the main culprit. 58% of players indicated the conditions impacted the players’ performances and 9% of player performances were hindered overall.

Club Index

Sydney FC was rated as the league’s best-performing club in the overall Club Performance Index, after placing in the top three for the sub-indices for Operations, Facilities, and Culture.

Pitch and atmosphere ratings

A-League players rated Wellington’s Sky Stadium with perfect marks for its pitch quality also and a four-star average for the match atmosphere.

Adelaide’s Coopers Stadium, AAMI Park, where also highly rated by ALM players with an average around the 4 stars mark. Victory home matches received an average of 4.4 for atmosphere.

The lowest rated were Newcastle’s McDonald Jones Stadium and Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, averaging just 2.1.

Though other factors are included for pitch quality like other events, Players should still not be subject to substandard and potentially dangerous conditions.

Conclusion

Though the report shows that in many aspects the sport is moving in the right direction, the responses from players on their welfare and on the need for more attendance is a worrying sign for the management.

This assessment is a strong example of the PFA’s dedication towards the sport in Australia and maintaining the strong relationship between the Football industry and the players themselves.

The key points of this report should be central to plans within A-League and Australian Football itself.

How to grow your soccer club through SEO

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Image credit: PxHere website

Members are the lifeline of any soccer club, but it can be a tricky task to gain more. Fortunately, you can grow your soccer club through SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, and potentially boost memberships exponentially.

SEO is the process of refining online content to be deemed more favourable by search engine algorithms, therefore placing it higher in search results.

Web goers are far more likely to visit higher search results than lower ones, and thus sites that can consistently place at the top of search results will receive far more web traffic.

For your soccer club, the greater level of web traffic you have, the greater your chance of gaining more memberships.

While the process of SEO may seem large, complicated and ultimately daunting – this guide will provide simple ways to boost your SEO practices.

Understanding your club’s online position 

Before you begin implementing SEO practices, it’s important to acknowledge how your club is tracking online.

If your club has a website, check for an analytics section. Website builders like Wix and WordPress offer analytics information such as the amount of web traffic a site receives, or which pages on a site are accessed the most.

If you do not have a club website or want to improve it, click here for Soccerscene’s club website guide.

If you want to upgrade the level of analytics at your disposal, Google Search Console is an incredibly useful tool available. It allows you to see which search queries are bringing visitors to your site, in addition to far more.

Once you have checked your website’s analytics, make note of the successes and areas for improvements across your website. These notes will help you start your SEO practices.

Targeting the right audiences 

To attract new members, it’s important to target the right people and not just the most amount of people.

As a club, your SEO practices should always prioritise your local area. Your local area is where you are going to find the most likely people to join your club, and also the least competition from other clubs.

To target your local area effectively, create a Google My Business profile and add your club’s address and contact information. Here you can add your club to Google Maps, add photos and much more.

In addition to targeting your local area, consider what type of soccer club you are marketing for. Is it family friendly, social, competitive, or something else?

SEO Tips and Tricks

When you know the audience of your club, you can start implementing SEO practices.

Keywords: Keywords are the words people are using to search for content online. As a club, you want to be using specific keywords to draw in the right visitors, such as “inclusive”, “all-levels welcome”, “professional”, or “competitive”, depending on the audience you’re aiming for.

Keywords should be used multiple times across your website, especially in your title, Web URL, and in the first 100 words of text on a page. You should also include synonyms to your keywords across your content.

Linking: Search engines find sites easier when they are linked elsewhere. There are two types of SEO linking, internal and outbound links. Internal links are links within your website, while outbound links are to other websites.

When internal linking, try linking articles within your site to related content. When outbound linking, always link to trustworthy sites, and to related content. Outbound linking is also an SEO bonus to where you link to, so consider linking to your sponsors or local community directories.

Readability: It may seem obvious, but it is incredibly important to have a readable and navigable site. When visitors quickly click on and leave multiple websites, search engines assume the websites are unhelpful and thus lower the website’s rankings within their algorithms.

To prevent people from rapidly leaving, ensure that information on your site is easily laid out and concise. Bullet points and short paragraphs can assist with this.

Additionally, ensure pages are easy to access and avoid cluttered website designs.

Mobile Optimisation: The majority of searches are performed on mobile phones, so it’s vital to cater to them. Make sure your website design is navigable on a phone. Furthermore, ensure that image or file sizes do not cause lengthy load times on phones.

Chrome Lighthouse can run reports on how successful your mobile site is.

Conclusion 

In the modern footballing world, it is crucial to grow your soccer club through SEO. With so many businesses and clubs flocking towards it, now is the time to jump on board to boost the number of people interested in your club.

If you would like to know more, feel free to contact Football Pro Directory.

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