LONDON: The Premier League season is well under way and teams are already fighting for supremacy; the gap between teams is closing and the small details of game statistics are becoming ever more relevant.
Funded by the Premier League, Press Association Sport – the Official Data Partner of Football Dataco – and technologists Venatrack have been working together for two seasons to provide greater analysis of performance data to the media and fans; 28 cameras, situated in every Premier League ground, track the ball, players, and officials; providing deeper levels of analysis.
The collaboration will provide data to EA Sports’ performance index and offer fans a manager’s view of player performance for the first time ever.
This new player data is unique because of its friendliness to the media and fans alike.
The statistics give greater insight into never-before-revealed details such as work rate, shot speed and fastest players. Interactive graphics featuring every goal from the Premier League, within an hour of it being scored, will now be available to the media.
Fans probably know that Robin Van Persie was last season’s top goal scorer but did they know that it took him 3,317 runs to secure 30 goals – a ratio of 110 runs to each goal scored – more than any other Premier League player?
The data is available in near real-time during the game enabling media reports to be transmitted instantly to an increasingly demanding audience.
Commenting on the technology, David Folker, General Manager at DataCo, said: “It is rewarding to see these new sources of data being made available to the media. All parties in the project have worked very hard to find the right data to promote, while making sure the delivery remains accurate.
“This is a genuine step forward in the analysis of football performance and with the prospect of adding more depth to the captured analysis, the future of Premier League data is very exciting.”
To help take this data to market, PA Sport has teamed up with performance analysis specialists Prozone. PA Sport will continue to service the UK and Asian media.
Speaking about the new relationship Andy Rice, MD of Sport Commercial at PA Sport, explained: “Working with Prozone will strengthen our reseller group – their sports analysis expertise makes them a perfect partner to take this new level of data to the media”.
Blake Wooster, Business Development Director at Prozone, added: “As the fan’s appetite for data continues to grow, we’re excited to team up with PA to assist them in distributing the official data to overseas markets, whilst ensuring that our Premier League teams continue to benefit from confidential Prozone data and analysis services.”
Key statistics from the first match of the Premier League 2012/13 season:
Distance Travelled
1. Mark Noble West Ham United 10408 m
2. Matthew Taylor West Ham United 10211 m
3. Jonathan Walters Stoke City 10187 m
Fastest Shot
1. Cheick Tiote Newcastle United 73.04 mph
2. Chris Brunt West Bromwich Albion 66.55 mph
3. Bryan Ruiz Fulham 65.81 mph
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