Bundesliga data expertise for Major League Soccer
26 June 2023 – Thanks to the cooperation between the North American Major League Soccer (MLS) and the German company Sportec Solutions AG, more data and statistics are available in the 2023 MLS season than ever before. The cooperation is also using data products that were developed in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2. Artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms developed jointly by Sportec Solutions, the DFL and Amazon Web Services (AWS) to generate Bundesliga Match Facts in German professional football, will also have a role to play in MLS further down the line.
Match data has steadily been becoming a more important part of professional sport for many years now. In addition to its usefulness for sport tactics, it is increasingly commonly being used in media content. The DFL has been building up its own expertise in this area for a very long time by compiling and distributing the official match data for the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 on its own account. Sportec Solutions AG, a joint venture between the DFL and Deltatre, the global market leader in sports media applications, plays a key role in this undertaking. First set up as an in-house centre of excellence in 2016, Sportec Solutions was assigned the goal of continuing to develop the use of data and sport technology in German football.
Now, approaching seven years after it was founded, Sportec Solutions delivers products and services that enable international sporting institutions to tap into the potential of their own data ecosystems. In addition to the highly advanced compilation, storage, analysis, delivery and evaluation of live match data, the company offers solutions for goal-line technology and decentralised services for the use of the video assistant.
The multi-year agreement with MLS is just the latest accomplishment for Sportec Solutions AG. Its remit according to that agreement includes data management and the related operational processes at the highest level of football in North America. All data products will be available not only to the league organisation and the clubs but also to users of the MLS Season Pass streaming service. Deltatre will be presenting the metrics from Sportec Solutions, such as the Expected Goals and Attacking Zones familiar from the Bundesliga Match Facts to start with, on screen in the form of graphics and data visualisations.
In particular, the data services developed in the Bundesliga being used in a North American professional league is a testament to the excellent progress we have made in recent years.
Hendrik Weber, Executive Vice-President of Sport Technology and Innovation at the DFL
‘We have established a close partnership with our colleagues at MLS, and we have a common vision for advanced ways of using innovative technologies in sport. In particular, the data services developed in the Bundesliga being used in a North American professional league is a testament to the excellent progress we have made in recent years. It demonstrates how our innovations are generating not only fascinating insight for Bundesliga fans but also lasting value for the DFL itself and other leagues,’ said Hendrik Weber, Executive Vice-President of Sport Technology and Innovation at the DFL and member of the supervisory board of Sportec Solutions.
‘By partnering with Sportec Solutions, we will continue to push the envelope with what is possible when you combine ground-breaking technology with a progressive approach to data to provide our tech-savvy fans a reimagined next-generation experience,’ said Chris Schlosser, MLS SVP of Emerging Ventures.
‘We are delighted to partner with MLS as the official data creation provider,’ said Christian Holzer, Managing Director at Sportec Solutions. ‘It is testament to the quality of our data and analysis capabilities that MLS has chosen us to provide these services.’
North America will stage the FIFA World Cup in 2026. The USA, Canada and Mexico will jointly host the tournament.