THE FUTURE OF FOOTBALL - How AI and Big Data are Changing Football

A new era in football has begun: Every movement, every touch of the ball, every centimeter of the pitch is measured, analyzed, and evaluated by AI systems. Match events, player movements, and fitness status on the field are passed on and evaluated in fractions of a second.

Clubs pay large sums of money to consulting firms to maximize success on the pitch using data. Top clubs have long established their own analysis departments to help identify the world’s greatest talents before the competition snaps them up. FC Liverpool, for example, assembled its championship team with the help of its own dedicated data department.

Ultimately, the big question remains: Can football be deciphered solely with the help of data, numbers, and AI models? How do the models that are revolutionizing the view of football work? How important is the human factor?

Tobias Escher reveals the opportunities and the downsides of the new data-driven professional football, showing what happens behind the scenes and how clubs are preparing for the future.