The new Soccer Advanced Analytics API gives media platforms a dynamic tool to engage fans who are following the ‘beautiful game’.
Whether it is a big league encounter between domestic rivals or an international contest packed full of the sport’s biggest stars, the API offers soccer followers the opportunity to gain a new perspective on the action.
With this in mind, an embeddable API can supercharge a media platform’s soccer coverage by offering the five following uses:
1. Providing real-time insights to retain fans and boost loyalty
The API’s deep-logging capabilities allow for the exploration of specific attributes of actions on the field, such as the foot used for a pass or the success of an aerial duel, with data collected in real-time.
Approximately 2,000 events are recorded during each match in the official ‘FIFA Football Language,’ which serves as the blueprint for the analysis of the sport and ensures consistency for fans worldwide. These insights provide deeper, up-to-date, and unique perspective, which helps to persuade users to stick with the platform and ultimately increases loyalty.
The API also boosts engagement, whether fans are following the contest directly or using it as a ‘second screen’ perspective, which is becoming increasingly popular in sports. According to a study, 59% of NFL American football viewers said they would find it important to follow the Super Bowl on multiple devices, up from 43% the previous year.
2. Creating storylines
The human brain is more likely to relate to information if it is delivered via a story.i The narratives that the API can bring to the fan experience through statistics that cover an individual player, team or even both sides on the field, can put data into context.
Statistics such as ‘loss of possession’, for example, can paint a picture of how the game is unfolding and resonate with the end user to keep them invested in the sporting action even if they do not follow either team.ii Indeed, establishing a narrative through API-based statistics is particularly important if, for example, the user is a neutral who is not rooting for anyone in the game and just wants to follow the action.
In soccer, this is commonplace, as illustrated by FIFA’s claim that last year’s coverage of the World Cup final reached 1.5 billion people worldwide – more than 13 times the total combined populations of the two nations represented in the game: Argentina and France.iii
3. Creating icons
From Lionel Messi to Alex Morgan, evidence of the star quality that sets apart the best players in the men’s and women’s game can be found in the API’s player-based statistics.
This is the case whether, like Messi, they are playing for Paris Saint-Germain in France’s Ligue 1, or perhaps like Morgan, they are competing for the US national team at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in New Zealand and Australia. The API covers tournaments such as these, and a growing number of competitions worldwide.
By giving users the chance to check out what makes the game’s superstars shine above everyone else in the context of the API-based statistics, platforms are boosting fandom. This tallies with research that suggests that fans are seeking to engage more with ‘heroes’ and their content.iv
4. Enhancing understanding of the game
Particularly in places like North America, soccer’s growing following demands a greater understanding of the action they are consuming to boost their familiarity with the sport. The Advanced Analytics API can be a vehicle to enhance that understanding.
Research has shown that rich media features increase the average time a visitor stays on a website,v and for new soccer fans, digesting statistics about a player, team or the game as a whole will put a contest into context.
It is little surprise that soccer fans new and old want to have access to statistics during coverage, partly so they can support their understanding of the action, but also in order to win arguments with friends and family and support their viewpoints.
5. Giving the fans what they want: Statistics
Sports fans crave stats. Giving the user the option to explore deep-dive details surrounding a soccer game will fulfil fan expectations, whether they are interested in fantasy sports, sports betting or just following the game in a data-driven world.
Media platforms are now well aware that they need to provide fans with all of the information they will need so they can enhance their experience without having to leave the platform.
By capturing some 2,000 ‘events’ per soccer match – 10 times what was possible previously – and by increasing the types of statistics available threefold, the API fulfils such an expectation.
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