U.S. Soccer Strikes Wearables Deal Worth Over $1.5 Billion #WearablesWednesday

Via Sporttechie

The U.S. Soccer Federation has hired Irish wearables company STATSports to provide monitoring devices for its four million registered soccer players in the United States. Valued at over $1.5 billion, according to a statement released by the companies, the deal aims to create the world’s largest player data monitoring program and act as a first step towards outfitting youth and amateur soccer players with performance technology similar to that used by professional soccer players around the world.

“We are extremely excited to partner with STATSports,” U.S. Soccer Director of Sport Development Ryan Mooney said in a statement. “This technology will drive our support, improve performance, and better monitor health and safety across all of our National Teams and our nation’s elite players in the Development Academy. By partnering with a world leader in wearable performance tracking, we will help drive and improve player environments through the exchange of data between clubs and U.S. Soccer as players enter and leave National team camps. Over time, this information will be used to research, support and educate the entire landscape.”

Here’s what you need to know:
-STATSports will provide its APEX athlete monitoring devices which are worn in a vest and positioned between the shoulder blades. The devices track distance, speed, acceleration, deceleration, high-speed running, load and heart rate.

-U.S. Soccer will use 6,500 APEX Team Series systems across the Men’s and Women’s National Teams, the Paralympic National Team, Futsal National Team, Beach Soccer National Team, National Women’s Soccer League, youth national teams and development academy clubs.

-Data tracked through APEX wearables can be streamed to and analyzed on everyday devices like phones, tablets and smart watches.

-STATSports provides services to numerous professional clubs in Europe and around the world, including English Premiere League clubs Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, as well as the Brazilian, German, Portuguese, Belgian and English football associations.

-In the U.S., the NFL, NHL and NBA have used its devices sporadically, although without any formal agreement like the one announced here with U.S. Soccer.

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