Features

FIFA chooses Camp Nou as data-monitoring testing ground

FIFA, football’s global governing body, has selected Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium to test a number of data monitoring systems used by companies that collect variables during matches.

The tests have been carried out over several sessions held this month and have prioritised indicators of positioning and speed of the players. A team of experts from the University of Victoria in Australia were on hand to supervise the tests.

A 30-by-30-metre quadrilateral was set up on the Camp Nou pitch to carry out the tests, which were made with the help of 30 students from the Barcelona Campus of the National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia (INEFC).

Students were fitted with sensors before circuiting the space by walking, jogging and sprinting in different directions and with acceleration changes. The monitoring systems of 13 tracking companies, including Track160, Catapult, Statsports and Fitogether, were subjected to the tests.

It is hoped the study will help coaches and medical teams better analyse games and further enhance the quality of sports broadcasts with the provision of more information.

FIFA previously held similar sessions at Barcelona’s Miniestadi. The club said the agreement to test the data at the Nou Camp has allowed researchers to validate the tracking systems for much larger stands which are prominent in stadia around the world.

Barcelona added that the initiative consolidates its facilities as a testing space with the aim of turning the club into the world’s largest sports experimentation and innovation library.

Image: FC Barcelona