GPS Football Technology At The World Cup

Despite games taking place across host cities such as the picturesque Saint Petersburg, the coast of Sochi and the mountainous Ekaterinburg, attention throughout this World Cup has almost always, at some point, ended up miles away in Moscow. This, however, is nothing to do the often front-page headlines involving diplomatic positions of the Kremlin nor the multicultural footballing carnival that has gripped the capital.

Moscow boasts the first-ever ‘VAR room’ at a World Cup and it’s here that officials, dressed in full kit, monitor an array of screens to help referees across a number of stadiums make the big calls. Russia 2018 will be remembered, besides the drama and action, as the debut of video technology, but coaches are in unison over the less obvious technological advances that has truly changed how footballers prepare, perform and recover.

Every one of the 32 teams competing this summer are monitoring, tracking and analysing the data wearable GPS systems are recording. From the field to the fingertips of managers, data such as how far a player runs, their top speed, the amount of sprints completed, load and intensity in addition to their positional heat map has never been more readily available. The group stages, for example, proved Denmark’s Christian Eriksen had worked the hardest across three games, covering an impressive 36km.

“These tools are very practical, they give us analysis and it’s very positive,” Colombia coach Jose Pekerman said. “They provide us with insight. They complement the tools we already have. It improves our work as coaches, and it will help footballers too. I think technologies are a very positive thing.”

While you might not have been on a plane to Russia this time around, that isn’t to say you can’t get the technology the very best players at the World Cup are using. PLAYR – the first FIFA-approved tracker for consumers – measures all the above metrics which professional coaches pay close attention too as well as then tailoring your data to insight by the Premier League coaches behind our SmartCoach system. This kind of technology has been exclusively available to the elite for over a decade, but PLAYR is changing all that. From what you eat to how you sleep, all the way through to schedule management and exercise, our SmartCoach system ensures your preparation, performance and recovery is akin to a professional’s.

“We pay great attention to these tools,” Poland coach Adam Nawalka adds. “Statistics play an important role for us. We analyse our strength and weaknesses.”

With technology at all levels of the game becoming more prominent, Russia’s World Cup has given us a glimpse into an advanced future.

You can the first FIFA-approved tracker for consumers here.