SAP and the German Football Association (DFB) have teamed up to create technology innovations to the SAP Sports One solution, designed to give an edge to the DFB during this year’s FIFA World Cup in Russia by enabling a new level of sharing and analysis of key match data to optimise team performance.
In fact, the two organisations have been working tirelessly on using technology and data insights to optimise team performance, player development, and recruitment since 2013.
The new SAP Sports One video cockpit, a content hub that combines vast amounts of the DFB’s live-play video with match and training information from numerous sources, enables match analysts and coaches to identify patterns and tendencies and to develop strategies in response. Analysts and coaches can use the new player dashboard to give players access to personalised information and videos from their mobile devices in real time.
“We have an incredible amount of data at the German national team that we need to process and share in real time with the trainer, the players and the analysts,” said Oliver Bierhoff, general manager, DFB.
The DFB recognised the impact that data and real-time insights could have on football early on and are excited about the evolving capabilities.
“Artificial intelligence and machine learning play a significant role in football and are an essential part of data analytics. We aim to gain a competitive advantage by using the latest technology innovations and we’re glad to work with SAP as the best partner for that,” said Bierhoff.
“The tactical aspects of soccer have become increasingly important in recent years,” said Christofer Clemens, head of scouting and match analysis, DFB. “It is a logical step to use technological innovations – especially from the fields of data analysis, artificial intelligence and machine learning – to simplify and accelerate certain processes.”
“Using the new functionalities of the SAP Sports One solution – video cockpit and player dashboard – allows the match analysts to prepare the coaches and players even more efficiently. Additionally, the players receive tailor-made information packages for upcoming matches,” said Clemens.
“As the reigning World Cup champion, the German national football team is at the forefront of the digital transformation across football and among the first to recognise that data and real-time insights can have a powerful impact on the field of play,” said Stefan Ries, member of the Executive Board of SAP SE and Chief Human Resources Officer.
SAP continues to enhance its sports technologies with innovations including the SAP Match Insights solution and the SAP Team One mobile app in 2014, followed by the SAP Penalty Insights web app and SAP Challenger Insights mobile app in 2016.
