Making sports data available to all
|Image: Daniel Lipinski
“It just gives you evidence that players aren’t overexerting themselves—especially in the heat. It also means you can see who isn’t doing enough!”
In a tent tucked away in the corner of Pitch 1, Beth Gray sits with a number of tablets.
Unlike the crowds gathering at Cardiff’s Bute Park, she’s neither taking selfies nor scrolling her social media feeds—she’s the main data analyst for the 2019 Homeless World Cup.
Working for Player Data, a Scottish start-up business based in Edinburgh, she’s on site throughout the week to help the teams with live performance analysis and data.
She said: “We trialled the system in Mexico at last year’s Homeless World Cup, and we’re back this year trying to track even more teams to give them help with their preparations.
“We’ll track different metrics like distance covered, speed zones, and positioning on the pitch. In essence, it means that they’ll get real-time data back from their matches. I will compile a spreadsheet that contains all of the data that we tracked during their match for them to interpret and use for future games.
|Beth Gray (Player Data) - the main data analyst for the Homeless World Cup in Cardiff Image: Daniel Lipinski
“This means we can generate heatmaps and other graphical breakdowns. It really helps with strategy and managing load as well. It just gives you evidence that players aren’t overexerting themselves—especially in the heat. It also means you can see who isn’t doing enough!”
Having secured a number of football teams in Edinburgh and Stirling to use the technology, Beth says the aim of the technology is to make sports data available and accessible to teams of all levels, regardless of their finances.
She added: “The Homeless World Cup have been really supportive in letting us trial the service, and it seems to have been a really good addition for the tournament.
|Image: Daniel Lipinski
“All the teams have been really excited by it and the feedback has been positive, so we went every club from amateur level upwards to be able to use data as part of their normal regime.”
Find out more about PlayerData
Words: David Brockett
Images: Daniel Lipinski