“Data is the raw material of the 21st century.” With this statement, the round table entitled ‘Data, data, data, what is data for?’ of the Pro Sportstech Congress, Aimed at debating the use and relevance that data is gaining in the world of sport in recent years. There is still a lot of ground to cover, but the implementation of the data is a reality and is used for a wide variety of possibilities. “Kevin De Bruyne hired a ‘big data’ team and negotiated an upward contract with the data of their performance in the field”, he gave as an example Jordi Mompart, Director of Research and Analysis at FC Barcelona.
The first of the keys on this subject has been the fact that the data say something, that they are not only figures. “By applying artificial intelligence, we have to try to make sense of it. The interesting thing about data is when you give it context to turn it into information, and when you give it a reference to turn it into knowledge,” he pointed out. Montse Guardia, co-founder and CEO of Big Onion. “Giving context to the data is a laborious process, it costs resources. If you get it, you can apply it to all levels of sport, communities can benefit,” added Maurici López, co-founder and CEO of Kognia. “What we have come to implement is the use of data in which there was a deficiency. We quantified aspects closely related to the game, especially the understanding of it. One thing is the final result, but you have to analyze how it has come to that”, Lopez continued.
With the data, there is always the paradox of who does the real business, and the monetization of these is something to work on. “All the data helps in different facets, such as increasing optimization or reducing costs,” he pointed out. Fabio Gallo, Product Director of LaLiga Tech. “Monetizing means increasing income, but also save. In the sports part of the data there is also a saving that is difficult to quantify”, explained Mompart. “In football, the main element is the goal. But how much does a goal cost? We have calculated that a goal is worth about five million euros to the big teams. One more goal scored, or one less conceded, has its calculation and is worth money”, added the Barça member, opening a new debate. “A goal will be worth a certain amount of money, but there is a human factor, the feeling of many people, which takes this to another field, is something of market perception. Are we going to value a goal by the metrics or by the impact it has on a community?” Guardia replied. “Blockchain technology is very important in monetization. It allows communities to retrieve the data and monetize on their own,” Mompart added to the thread.
Jordi Mompart.
Rodolfo Molina (Rodolfo Molina)
But the data is not only useful in the more strictly sports field. “We can give the competition a connection with other agents not so tied to the world of sports, but who move around him. For example, security logistics or merchandising”, explained the co-founder of Big Onion. “We use artificial intelligence to anticipate and calculate how many members will not attend a game and thus know the tickets we can put on sale”, exemplified Mompart. “The activation of the data is key, use a digital ecosystem in which all the data converges to know who the users are and that later decisions can be made,” Gallo said.
Because, finally, the importance of users, who provide very useful data, was also discussed. To this end, the importance of good communication was stressed. “It is important to make users understand why we ask for their data, that they know that with this data we can personalize their experience. It is an added value, and communication is essential in that sense,” Gallo pointed out, something López also pointed to. “Data collection has to be explained very well to the user.” In the last debate, on whether the United States He had an advantage, Mompart assured that he did, but López pointed out the reason. “It is not because they are more advanced, but because they are sports with greater statistical importance. compared to football, which is more dynamic, which requires a greater understanding beyond the final result”.