STATSports, the world’s leading player tracking and analysis provider, is launching a new Talent ID programme in Northern Ireland - in an extension of its partnership with the Irish Football Association.
The Northern Ireland-based company is also to continue as the Official Player Performance Analysis Partner to the national teams, the association’s coach education department and the Irish FA JD Academy.
Under the partnership extension agreement with the Irish FA, STATSports will provide increased support to Coach Education and the Academy by delivering sports science insights and education to coaches and teams around Northern Ireland.
It will also work with the association to help with Talent Identification by tracking the metrics of young players across the country via the STATSports Apex Athlete Series GPS Tracker product.
All Northern Ireland-based APEX Athlete Series users will have the option to share their data with the Irish FA, and top performers will be invited to take part in a series of Talent ID events throughout the partnership.
The new three-year tie-up follows several years of collaboration between the two organisations.
STATSports, which first became an official partner of the Irish FA in 2020, is headquartered in Newry with offices in Chicago, Florida and London.
The company’s technology has been used by the senior men’s national team since 2012, capturing data from players during every session, including total distance covered, maximum speeds, high speed running distance, intensity and fatigue levels.
Its products include the Apex Pro Series, which provides analysis equipment to some of the biggest sports teams in the world, and the Apex Athlete Series GPS Tracker, which enables individuals at all levels to analyse and improve their physical performance.
David Tweed, Head of Marketing at STATSports, said: “We’re really pleased to be extending our relationship with the Irish FA. We’re excited about how we can further support player development in Northern Ireland, particularly with helping the pathway into the JD Academy.
“We’ve seen notable successes around the use of player performance data supporting Premier League teams and various youth competitions in the US to help identify talent, so we’re delighted to be strengthening this approach in support of the Irish FA.”
Stephen Garrett, Senior Commercial Manager at the Irish FA, said: “We’re delighted to renew our partnership with STATSports, a truly world leading company indigenous to Northern Ireland.
“We’re excited to work together to help educate clubs, volunteers and players on GPS performance analysis across all areas of Northern Ireland football.”
Image: Announcing the extension of the partnership between the Irish Football Association and STATSports are Stephen Garrett, Senior Commercial Manager at the Irish FA, Irish FA JD Academy player Braiden Graham and David Tweed, STATSports’ Head of Marketing.
