STATSports leading the way for GPS tracking

Liam Watson

Big-name Premier League clubs have chosen to partner up with STATSports, who are industry leaders in providing GPS tracking systems and analysis. 

Up to five of the top six in the league have already made the switch to STATSports, including Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur – while the service is used by the majority of fellow Premier League sides.

These Premier League clubs have worked closely with STATSports as they developed Sonra 3.0 and Sonra Live which is the latest software upgrade that the Premier League will be set to receive – featuring marketing-leading analysis platforms and further improvement on athlete monitoring.

STATSports are widely regarded across professional football – in addition to their big-name Premier League clients, they also push further into the English FA and abroad across the world, venturing out to the likes of Paris Saint Germain and Juventus. 

STATSports were involved in the Project Restart by informing the Premier League with a Player Proximity Report, using their data to show which type of sessions would cause players to come to together more often. STATSports offers a quick and time-effective process, with download times four times faster than any platform. It means receiving results from a typical session for a squad of players would take under two minutes. 

For elite clubs, Sonra 3.0 is the ideal go-to solution and it further streamlines and enhances performance with a host of new features that will make a difference. Sonra 3.0 is the brand-new product launch by STATSports and the latest offering for anyone looking to acquire their very own GPS tracking and analysis. 

Among the key inclusions, session planning features have been added to the calendar, allowing club performance departments to map up training cycles for weeks in advance. Video integration in the Video Manager has been developed further while adding a full squad 2D positioning. There is also a Scientific Calculator, allowing practitioners to create bespoke custom metrics based upon their own requirements.

Users are now able to choose between ‘Light’ and Dark’ modes as they can customise their preferred theme when on the app. 

The launch of Sonra 3.0 has coincided with the introduction of a new iPad application called Sonra Live, enabling coaches to monitor training in real-time. 

Sonra Live’s real-time data has been independently validated to form a perfect correlation with downloaded data, making this the most accurate live-monitoring solution of its kind. Coaches can then make instant, informed and impactful decisions for anything they intended to achieve. 

Sonra Live features team-level reporting, detailed individual-player dashboards, drill cutting for precise session analysis, post-session reporting via PDF/CSV and synchronisation to desktop applications for further analysis. 

STATSports’ on-board metric processing means there will be no data drop-out and they are the only provider in the industry to give 100% identical live and post-session download data quality.  

With flawless results, this puts the power in the end users’ hands to make immediate decisions with confidence no matter what they want to do. Coaches can set multiple thresholds for individual players or full squads, while multiple coaches can each monitor their own iPads simultaneously. 

“This is an exciting day for STATSports and the many teams we work with. This is another major advancement in the level in which coaches and managers can monitor their players,” STATSports co-founder, Sean O’Connor said. 

“Technology is now truly integrated into the game and we have played our part in that. We have worked closely with those teams during lockdown and also used the time to finalise the development of our new Sonra platform – we’re confident that our clients will further benefit from working with us through the introduction of this.” 

The creation of both Sonra 3.0 and Sonra Live reaffirms STATSports’ commitment to being the industry leader in GPS tracking and innovations for this space, supplying this resource to world-renowned clubs. 

“We have really enjoyed developing this new software platform. Time is a key commodity for clubs,” STATSports co-founder, Alan Clarke said. 

“The quicker they can make decisions with reliable and accurate feedback, the greater the edge they have on their competition.  

“We will continue to push the boundaries of what is possible and ensure athletes can do the same on the training pitch and the competitive environment.” 

For more information on STATSports, you can find it here.

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Two Mid North Coast Football Clubs Secure NSW Government Infrastructure Grants

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Penrith
Two NNSW Clubs Secure Critical Infrastructure Grants

Great Lakes United and Gloucester SC have been awarded a near combined $340,000 in NSW Government infrastructure funding, with the grants addressing two of the most persistent and practical barriers to football participation in regional communities: poor drainage and inadequate facilities.

The funding comes through the NSW Government’s ClubGrants Category 3 Infrastructure Program, which drew 424 applications in this round and approved 22 projects. The program is designed to fund construction, renovation and fit-out of community infrastructure for disadvantaged NSW communities, including regional and remote areas, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, and people with disability. Both successful football clubs fall under the Football Mid North Coast zone, administered by Northern NSW Football.

Gloucester SC received $254,603 to construct all-abilities toilets, showers and referee facilities. Great Lakes United secured $84,200 for drainage installation at Boronia Park Sports Complex, a project aimed at reducing weather-related disruptions and improving field usability across the season.

Infrastructure gaps that are holding the game back

Football is the largest participation sport in NSW, with close to 300,000 registered players using approximately 1,000 sites and 2,250 playing fields every week, yet the facilities supporting that participation aren’t built to handle the scale or diversity of the game as it exists today.

Northern NSW Football’s own assessment of the problem is frank. The federation has previously identified drainage, lighting and inclusive changerooms as the foundational infrastructure gaps most likely to determine whether facilities are functional, safe and accessible year-round.

Female football participation in NSW has grown by 26% since 2014, placing particular pressure on clubs whose amenities were not designed with women and girls in mind. Gloucester SC’s all-abilities toilet and shower block, while framed as an accessibility upgrade, carries that broader implication: facilities built for a narrower participation base are increasingly inadequate for the game being played in them.

NNSWF Government Relations Manager Gary Fisher said the outcomes reflected the kind of community-driven football the federation exists to support. “Great Lakes United and Gloucester SC are wonderful examples of community football driven by dedicated volunteers, passionate families and strong local spirit,” Fisher said. “This funding will make a meaningful difference in helping both clubs continue to grow and provide positive experiences for players of all ages and abilities.”

A federation building its case for government investment

The grants also reflect a deliberate shift in how Northern NSW Football engages with government funding. The federation has previously described football as under-funded and committed to engaging more diligently with government, including appointing a full-time government relations manager to advocate for the region. The ClubGrants outcome is a direct product of that approach.

NNSWF’s recently released Member Zone Infrastructure Strategies are designed to strengthen the federation’s alignment with government funding priorities, providing the evidence base needed to support grant applications and long-term facility planning.

“Ultimately we want to create more inclusive and accessible environments for everyone involved in the game while building stronger, more sustainable clubs and communities for the future,” says Fisher.

NNSWF’s own Facilities Fund, established in 2019, has invested more than $1.6 million in community infrastructure since inception, with partnering funding bringing the total project value to over $3.7 million. The ClubGrants wins for Gloucester SC and Great Lakes United extend that pattern of layered, multi-source funding.

Across 2025/26, a total of $12.75 million was allocated through two rounds of ClubGrants Category 3, building on the $12.6 million provided in 2024/25 for 83 projects. For two volunteer-run clubs on the NSW Mid North Coast, competing against 424 applications to land a place among 22 funded projects represents a significant outcome, and a sign that NNSWF’s government relations infrastructure is beginning to pay off.

Capital Football Introduces Pink Armband to Protect Junior Referees

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Image Credit: Marist Canberra FC

Capital Football has launched a visible identification program for referees under 18, requiring them to wear a pink armband during matches. It’s intended to build awareness surrounding the concern across Australian football about the abuse driving young officials out of the game.

The Pink Armband Initiative, effective immediately across Capital Football’s competitions in the ACT and surrounding region, makes junior referees identifiable to players, coaches and spectators. The federation says the marker is designed to set clear behavioural expectations and signal that many match officials are minors still developing their skills.

Capital Football acknowledged a referee crisis as far back as 2022, at which point it restructured its entire referee department in partnership with Football Australia. The pink armband program is the latest layer of that response; this time by targeting the cultural conditions on match day rather than systems of recruitment and pay.

A problem that spans codes and states

Research has consistently linked referee abuse to declining retention rates, with officials quitting in growing numbers due to sustained mistreatment, a trend researchers warn will reduce the pool of skilled match officials available at all levels of the game. Studies also show that young, less experienced referees are disproportionately likely to be subject to abuse.

Capital Football is not alone in reaching for a visible solution. Similar programs operate across Football Queensland, Football South Australia, Football South Coast and several other federations, while Basketball Victoria and Basketball South Australia have adopted comparable measures through the Green Whistle initiative. The spread of these programs across codes and states reflects a shared administrative problem: many grassroots referees are teenagers and volunteers who do not officiate for money but because they love the game, and abuse is eroding that foundation.

For a federation overseeing nearly 29,000 registered players, fewer referees means fewer matches. Fewer matches means reduced participation. The pink armband is a low-cost intervention with structural consequences if it works.

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