Combining Video And Player Telemetry For Evidence-Based Decisions In Soccer

Technology is changing how soccer clubs train and interact with their supporters. Systems that provide acquisition and visualization of low-level player telemetry, like distance covered and speed, are already being widely adopted. Akey observation is that such data when correlated with actual in-game video footage is a powerful tool for evidence-based decisions. As data volume and complexity grow, efficient tools for automated high-precision retrieval become essential. This paper describes the unique combination of a radio-based sensor platform and several custom video retrieval systems in operational use at Tromso Idrettslag (TIL), a Norwegian premier league soccer club. The systems have been developed using an experimental computer-science method where several prototypes were built and deployed for evaluation in close collaboration with the intended users. Although our method of computer-system prototyping has not yield end commercial quality products, it has enabled enabled us to construct several novel systems combining low-level player telemetry with video retrieval, annotations, and user-centric security.