How Did We Get Here?The Development of Analytics in Football

Overview

This course explores how football evolved from intuition-driven decision-making to a fully data-powered sport. Learners will uncover the origins of sports analytics through the “Moneyball” revolution in baseball, the rise of shot-quality models in basketball and hockey, and the early pioneers who first applied scientific thinking to football. From Charles Reep’s handwritten data charts to Lobanovskyi’s cybernetic model, the course traces how ideas from statistics, engineering, and computer science gradually reshaped how the game is played and understood. As technology advanced, video analysis, event data, and tracking systems transformed how clubs evaluated performance, recruited players, and designed tactics. Case studies show how modern clubs exploit data to find market inefficiencies and gain competitive advantages. By the end of this course, learners will understand the milestones, people, and technologies behind football’s analytics revolution — and how they paved the way for the sophisticated models used today.

Syllabus

Becoming Professional: The Advent of Analytics in Baseball and Other Major American Sports

Discover how American sports like baseball, basketball, and hockey pioneered data-driven approaches. This module highlights the game-changing impact of analytics, from the Moneyball era in baseball to the mathematical revolutions in basketball and hockey, revealing lessons that set the stage for football’s own data transformation.

The Football Data Revolution: The Rise of Data-Driven Clubs

Trace the journey of analytics in football, from early innovators to today’s most data-savvy clubs. Learn how advances in video analysis and event data tagging fueled a new era of evidence-based decision making, and dive into case studies of teams that have redefined success through analytics.

The Important Actors: Who Has Driven the Development in the Modern Data Era

Meet the companies, clubs, and media outlets that have shaped the landscape of football analytics. This module explores the rise of major data providers, the evolution of club strategies, and the powerful role media and public discourse play in driving the analytics movement forward.

The Academic Advancements: What Papers and Concepts Have Pushed the Field Forward

Unpack the academic breakthroughs behind today’s most influential football metrics. Explore the origins of expected goals (xG), the rise of possession-based value models, and the introduction of pitch control and spatial analysis through tracking data—concepts that continue to shape the future of football analytics.