Sports analytics company Track160 signs deal with German Football League
As part of the deal, the company will team up with DFL, the umbrella company of professional soccer in Germany.
By EYTAN HALONUpdated: OCTOBER 11, 2018 16:03Bayern Munich v VfB Stuttgart - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - May 12, 2018 Bayern Munich's Thomas Mueller celebrates winning the Bundesliga with the trophy and team mates (photo credit: REUTERS/MICHAELA REHLE)
Petah Tikva-based automatic sports analytics company Track160 has signed a strategic partnership deal with the German Football League (DFL), the companies announced Thursday at a press conference in Germany.Founded in 2017 by sports technology experts Dr. Miki Tamir and Micha Birnbaum, Track160 uses innovative artificial intelligence to track players and produce tactical information and performance analysis, without the need for cumbersome GPS or radio frequency sensors.As part of the deal, the company will team up with DFL, the umbrella company of professional soccer in Germany, and gain access to Bundesliga game data archives, in addition to competing for future technological contracts for the league.The CEO of the DFL, Christian Seifert, will join the Track160 board of directors following the agreement.The DFL operates Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, the top two professional German soccer leagues. The Bundesliga is one of the world’s most competitive divisions and has led the way in sports innovation, including introducing video assistant referee technology at the start of the 2017-18 season.Track160’s technology allows coaches and media brands to collect performance data as well as tactical data on teams and players, including average distances, sprints, successful deliveries, accumulated workloads, and predict injury risks and player suitability.Deep Learning and Computer Vision algorithms enable the system to locate player positions and position the ball in a three-dimensional world, thereby transforming flat video into dynamic 3D coverage.In August, Track160 won the European SportsTech award, the soccer industry’s preeminent sports-tech prize, at the annual Spielmacher conference in Hamburg.“We are delighted to announce our cooperation with one of the world’s leading and most innovative football leagues,” Tamir said. “This is an expression of confidence in Track160’s Deep Learning technology and we are excited by the potential of this collaboration. I believe that along with the DFL we will lead a real revolution in the world of sports, and that our developments will advance new capabilities and applications in the areas of training, media and gaming.”
“I am excited and welcome the cooperation with Track160,” said Seifert. “We were very impressed with its technological capabilities and achievements, as well as the depth of their vision and their rapidly advancing capabilities in the world of Big Data and Machine Learning. I would be delighted to be part of the Track160 board of directors and to participate in shaping the future of sports technology.”
