PlayerStat Data the ideal solution for tracking performance

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PlayerStat Data
Image credit: PlayerStat Data

In the digital age, with clubs and athletes alike looking for any which way they can improve their performance on and off the pitch, one platform is looking to target the teenage development, allowing clubs to track their players progression and better help find areas of improvement within their squad.

PlayerStat Data are a development data platform, aimed at football teams and academies aged 13-19, targeting key development areas. They offer a flexible range of physical, on-field data performance, with the ability for coaches to add in their own assessment notes, allowing for a wholistic approach to player assessment and analysis. Their secure platform ensures that clients only have access to their own club’s individual data, as many Irish and American clubs are keen to investigate the possibilities of PlayerStat Data for their club.

However, PlayerStat Data does give the opportunity to compare metrics for players and teams, against the 100s of players stats already in their system, allowing coaches to gauge at how similar their players are performing to other players of that age and position. PlayerStat Data also takes clients match footage, and provides individual and player performance data insights, allowing for an objective analysis of a player’s performance over a match, month, or even the whole season.

PlayerStat Data has set its sights on teams aged 13-19, as they feel that is where the data can be extrapolated and utilised to its fullest potential. The ability for players and coaching staff to rectify player weaknesses earlier thanks to identifying the objective shortcomings of players, can allow coaches to focus more on a certain skill or technique, which can bring the player up to speed.

PlayerStat Data offers 5 key figures for measuring the success of a youth team or academy.

  • Player performance data output: collected from recorded match video footage.
  • Physical data output: (ie. GPS-driven data outputs, maturation tests etc).
  • Sports psychological insights: giving greater context around Youth Player Dev.
  • Socio-economic data collection: specific to the client’s own operations.
  • Coach Assessment: output of players’ ability at varying stages across the season.

There is also the ability to create highlight reels of game day and training, which is invaluable to a coach, who can show players what they are doing right, or where they are going wrong in specific passages. PlayerStat Data can also offer both team and individual player match reports, allowing coaches to find their shining lights during poor team performances, or areas that are struggling more than others.

PlayerStat Data looks to give coaches objective data, which can also benefit them come end of season, when retaining, re-trialling, and release procedures are under way, allowing clubs to explain their reasons why a player has been chosen for a certain category, and gives a player an understanding of where they need to improve. It also speeds up the process of analysing for coaches, who no longer need to watch through and edit match footage, as this is taken care of by PlayerStat Data.

PlayerStat Data, whilst popular in the US, Canada, and the UK, has not broken into the Australian market considerably. Much of Australia’s NPL youth teams have very limited statistical analysis, and more so the judgement of coaching staff. This can leave the clubs victim to potential coaching bias, which has seen the pathways of many youth players disrupted or halted due to coach favouritism, over objective measures of talent and ability. And whilst coaches can still utilise their own ideas and notes within PlayerStat Data, the more wholistic approach of having both objective and subjective information can allow for the most accurate decisions, and better coaching outcomes for both clubs and players.

For more information on PlayerStat Data, click here.

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How Musco Lighting is Transforming the Game

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Image Credit: Musco Lighting

Lighting quality, uniformity, and control are three of the most important elements a football venue must master. Done well, they elevate the standard of play, enhance the fan experience, and ensure world-class broadcasts. 

Modern football demands more than just traditional floodlights. From community fields to elite stadiums, facilities need solutions that combine performance, efficiency, and reliability.

Musco Lighting believes their systems, which are engineered LED technologies, modular mini-pitch packages, and advanced control platforms are the key to achieving these goals.

Musco’s “Projects Made Simple” approach offers complete, tailored lighting solutions designed for every level of the game. Central to this is Total Light Control for LED, a system that provides precise light distribution while reducing glare and minimising environmental spill.

Complementing Total Light Control for LED is Musco’s Mini-Pitch System, developed in the U.S. Soccer Foundation. These compact, all-in-one facilities combine fencing, goals, benches, storage, and integrated lighting, transforming underused spaces into safe, vibrant football environments.

Features of Musco’s lighting include; uniform illumination across the pitch, therefore eliminating dark zones; advanced glare reduction, which ensures comfort for players, spectators and surrounding areas of the pitch; and smart monitoring, which allows operators to remotely control and schedule the lighting. The lighting company also uses sustainable practices with the ability to have energy savings of up to 60%. 

Musco’s systems have already been used by some of the biggest names in football.

At Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal FC, the installation of Musco’s SportsCluster Green LED system has been transformative according to Arsenal’s Stadium and Facilities Director, John Beattie.

“It is important for both players and fans alike that we have top-quality lighting for the club’s evening fixtures and Musco’s new floodlights provide just that.” he said. 

AFC Bournemouth faced the challenge of upgrading their facilities following promotion to the Premier League in 2015 but Club General Manager Liz Finney said the company’s product was crucial.

“We needed to install a new pitch lighting system to meet the requirements of both the club and the Premier League in a fairly short space of time. Musco delivered on all counts.” Finney said. 

Elsewhere, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Audi Field in Washington D.C. have reported improved player visibility, enhanced broadcast quality, and major energy savings following their adoption of Musco’s technology.

Australia’s football landscape presents unique challenges. Facilities often serve multiple sports, grassroots participation is rapidly expanding, and professional leagues increasingly demand higher broadcast standards.

Musco’s systems offer important benefits to help with this development, these include mini-pitch installations, which could expand access to safe well lit spaces in urban areas, which would help to support grassroots growth.

Another benefit could be that elite stadiums could meet higher broadcast standards to match international scale games. Finally, using Musco would create energy savings and have a reduced environmental aspect.

Musco’s football lighting solutions are much more than a technical upgrade, they also represent a shift in how football is played, viewed, and experienced. By pairing innovation with reliability, they support the game from grassroots fields to international arenas.

As Australia looks to strengthen its football infrastructure, Musco’s proven effective technology could help bridge the gap between community play and world-class competition.

Overall, the use of Musco Lighting systems could greatly improve football in Australia, whether you are playing or watching the game.

GIS Industry Masterclass Highlights Pathways for Women’s Sport

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Image Credit: Soccerscene

This month, the Global Institute of Sport (GIS) held an industry masterclass with guest speakers discussing the future of development in women’s sport.

The masterclass panel had two key speakers:

  • Chantella Perera, General Manager of Sport at KOJO.
  • Yael Reed, a sports marketing consultant who has worked with Newcastle Jets, Football Australia and Netball NSW.

These two industry experts, representing different areas of the women’s sporting world, delved into answering the event’s important goal of growth and sponsorship in women’s sport.

The role that media and commercial partners have in elevating women’s sport was a key point. Discussion was centred around the importance of encouraging broadcasters to invest in women’s sport directly and not just through male sport avenues.

Yael Reed spoke about the importance of media revenue being invested into women’s sports.

“Media partners with broadcast and commercial revenue is ultimately what is invested in the sport, and you need to invest to grow,” she said.

“Broadcast and commercial revenue also contributes to paying the players

“Media and coverage revenue is what is invested into the sport and their support is needed to help sports to grow, but also to benefit from, Women’s sport is no longer the steak knives.”

Chantella Perera, a former professional sportsperson and with KOJO a big leader in women’s sports events, outlined the position of women’s sports:

“From grassroots we see more equity with facilities and infrastructure for girls now. From my field in the event world lens, the investment from clubs and leagues is improving year on year. The disparity is still huge,” Perera said.

“There must be money invested to grow it. Yes, it is changing—a lot more females can do it as a job.

“But I feel we are still talking a lot but not doing a lot. People can make action, and it doesn’t have to be huge actions. Making those small steps towards that change is where we move forward.

“The Matildas’ success at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup has sparked a rise in interest towards women’s football in the country.”

Perera, however, commented on the slow impact it has produced:

“It did have an impact with the eyes and traction, but we are still waiting for the influx of cash,”

“I’d challenge the effect and ask: two years on, have we seen enough from it? I just want to see if we can get more from it.”

A key point regarding investing in women’s sport and central to the discussion was how to invest in the differences between men’s and women’s sport.

Reed expressed her key ways in which this step can be tackled:

“It’s important for brands to consider Who they are trying to connect with? The benefit of women’s sport is it’s fresh and new (compared to men’s sport). There’s a lot to be unexpected. There are amazing people playing the sport and their story needs to be told,”

“I think when you can connect with athletes, with clubs, and harness that promotion and opportunity that’s there with women’s sport.

“The opportunity in women’s sport is to expect the unexpected.” Reed highlighted.

The important question of brand alignment became central to the discussion, with the equation for branding being relevance multiplied by emotion equals impact.

To harness the sponsor’s relevance to the team and the sport, harnessing that emotion and being relevant to the fans and showing up for them and having an impact promotes any brand.

An example presented by Reed was the Suzuki partnership with the Swifts:

“By putting players in their content and in the car the swift has been really positive,”

“The business case is there. We now have a greater asset in women’s sport to take your brands to the next level

“To have a women’s demographic is such a good asset for business branding.”

Women’s sport has faced challenges in gaining support and funding to expand and delve into the ever-growing popularity of the women’s game.

Sponsorships and businesses trying to grow their portfolio and market shouldn’t underestimate the power that women’s sport and football have.

It is unique and it is unexpected, as was discussed centrally in this masterclass.

The ways to grow women’s sport are there, and the benefits are evident. Sponsors need to take the necessary step and will undoubtedly reap the rewards if they do so.

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