STATSports signs long-term partnership deal with Chinese FA

Newry based tech firm STATSports has announced a deal with the Chinese Football Association (CFA) which will see the company provide its pioneering APEX wearable player tracking system to all national teams within the federation.
By The Newsroom
Published 5th Nov 2018, 16:07 BST
Updated 5th Nov 2018, 17:11 BST
The Chinese national soccer team pictured using STATSports APEX technology at a recent training sessionThe Chinese national soccer team pictured using STATSports APEX technology at a recent training session
The Chinese national soccer team pictured using STATSports APEX technology at a recent training session

The landmark deal will see STATSports’ technology play a key role in helping China reach its goal to qualify, host and win a World Cup within the next 30 years and to get 50 million people in the country playing the sport by 2020.

The company’s APEX technology tracks each athlete’s performance during practice sessions and games and provides direct and invaluable real-time feedback to coaching staff and players.

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It measures and analyses physical attributes of players and can provide details on metrics such as distance covered, speed, acceleration, as well as insights on player load and the level of fatigue and injury risk of the athlete/player.

“We are looking to improve our on-field performance of our national teams,” said Lido Du, head of national team performance at the CFA.

“We identified GPS player tracking technology as a crucial factor in facilitating this improvement.

“We have tested all leading GPS suppliers on the market and we are very happy with the overall package offered by STATSports. Their APEX system provided the most accurate data feedback and allows us the most in-depth insights into our athletes’ performance at all levels of the association.

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“Big data has become an exceedingly important part of gaining advantage and self-improvement in today’s football world. Tracking data is an inevitable component in it. Now our teams use APEX system in training daily and even in many official matches, which has been a great support to us from many aspects.”

STATSports chief global strategist Jarlath Quinn said:

“This agreement is another fantastic achievement for STATSports.

“Chinese football has received a great deal of coverage over the last couple of years and has made significant investments to ensure they can compete at the highest level in years to come.

“STATSports are delighted to play our part in assisting the CFA to achieve their goals over the coming years and are excited to build on this partnership as the sport continues to grow throughout China.”

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The deal follows landmark agreements earlier this year with both US Soccer and the Brazilian Football Confederation for its APEX device, which is also used by European champions Portugal, Belgium, England and Ireland.

In addition, the technology is used by many of the world’s biggest sporting organisations across the English Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, MLS, NFL, NBA, Rugby Union and international hockey.