AI has completely revolutionized football over the last years, mainly altering the way clubs operate. Player recruitment, tactical analysis and performance tracking – AI is reshaping every aspect of the sport. Vast majority of the clubs these days leverage AI into strategies, therefore transforming the game.
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Common Applications of AI in Football
- Player scouting: AI can process vast amounts of player data to identify hidden talents worldwide, analyze players’ performances, and assess transfer market values;
- Tactical analysis: AI can analyze match footage to identify weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement;
- Injury prevention: AI can help predict injuries by analyzing player data, and optimize recovery plans;
- Performance optimization: AI can track players performance metrics to optimize their on-field displays.
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Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion, an English Premier League club, relies heavily on artificial intelligence to target new players. The club’s standout approach lies in collecting thousands of player data through artificial intelligence-based applications. Throughout the last couple of years, they’ve managed to sign some of the most promising talents from countries like Argentina, Paraguay, Colombia, Sweden, and so on and so forth.
The club utilizes a data-driven strategy, incorporating a tool named Starlizard. Developed by club owner Tony Bloom, an American businessman, Starlizard was initially designed to aid in casino gambling decisions. Over time, it evolved into a sophisticated application capable of tracking football players worldwide.
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Liverpool Football Club
Liverpool Football Club also utilizes artificial intelligence into their strategic approach. The club has become one of the first teams in the world to use an AI system for football tactics at corner kicks, named TacticAI.
The main purpose of the software is to enhance and optimize the way clubs take their corner-kicks during games. The way the players are set-up during corner-kicks is often coached in training sessions before matches. TacticAI helps by finding new approaches and suggesting improvements to traditional set-piece routines. It predicts the pass trajectory and which player is most likely to receive the ball.
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Chelsea Football Club
Chelsea Football Club, another EPL (English Premier League) club, has partnered up with aiScout, an innovative app, to revolutionize their recruitment process. The app functions by allowing thousands of players to upload clips of themselves playing and performing specific drills, which Chelsea and other clubs can then review.
The traditional scouting process typically covers around 2,000 players per season, but with aiScout, the range is significantly broader (nearly 100.000 players). The integration of AI into football scouting aids in enhancing chances of discovering new talents and making the recruitment process more efficient.
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Conclusion:
AI has truly revolutionized football, specifically it is widely used in player performance analysis, game strategy optimization, and player recruitment. This integration of AI fosters a more strategic, engaging, and data-driven approach to modern football.
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Reference links
1. 30 Days Coding – How AI is Transforming Player Performance Analysis and Talent Scouting
2. Data Sports Group – How Artificial Intelligence is Revolutionizing Performance Analysis in Sports
3. AnalyiSport – Usage of Artificial Intelligence in Football
4. Myerson – How Tech is Changing the Game of Football
5. ISportConnect – How AI and Analytics Are Shaping the Future of the Game
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Generative AI used – Gemini.