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. A key 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 Tromsø Idrettslag (TIL), a Norwegian premier league soccer club. The systems have been developed using an experimental computerscience 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 yielded commercial quality products, it has enabled us to construct several novel systems combining low-level player telemetry with video retrieval, annotations, and user-centric security.