Applied Football Analytics - Looking at real-world cases

Overview

This course explores how football analytics is applied in real-world professional environments, moving from theory to practice across performance analysis, scouting, club strategy, and media. Learners will follow the workflows used by elite analysts, from pre-match preparation and in-match evaluation to post-match reporting, and understand how clubs build data-driven processes to support coaching and decision-making. Through detailed case studies, the course examines how scouting databases are designed, how key performance metrics and ranking systems are built, and how clubs integrate qualitative evaluations with advanced models such as xG, xT, packing, clustering, and weighted scoring systems. Learners will also analyse how clubs assess team performance using Expected Points, Monte Carlo simulations, phase-of-play analysis, set-piece modelling, squad planning, ageing curves, and contract evaluation. Finally, the course explores how analytics influences football media, from radar charts to real-time broadcast overlays, and the psychology behind numbers, helping learners recognise common misinterpretations and build stronger data-driven arguments. By the end, learners will understand how analytics supports tactical insights, recruitment, forecasting, and storytelling across the football ecosystem.

Syllabus

Performance Analysis: Understanding the Game

Delve into the full cycle of match analysis, from pre-game scouting reports to comprehensive post-match evaluations. Learn how data-driven insights inform coaching decisions and discover how long-term analytical studies can revolutionize training methodologies and team development.

Scouting and Player Evaluation

Uncover the tools and methods that power modern football scouting. This module covers the centralization of player data, the use of key metrics and ranking systems, and effective ways to visualize and assess player performance—helping clubs make smarter, more sustainable recruitment decisions.

Club Strategy and Decision-Making

Explore how analytics underpin strategic decisions at the club level. You’ll analyze long-term team performance, assess alignment with club philosophy, and dive into squad planning through data on minutes played, contract management, and depth charts to guide the future direction of the organization.

Analytics in Media

Examine the growing influence of analytics in sports broadcasting and journalism. Learn how to communicate complex data through tools like xG and spider charts, build persuasive arguments with numbers, and spot the pitfalls of misleading analytics that can shape— or distort—public narratives.