Sounders FC kicked off its Soccer Analytics Conference presented by Zulily last Wednesday, as participants spent time listening to and learning from a talented panel of experts in data analytics, one of the biggest growing trends in sports over recent years. The goal of the conference is to examine how soccer clubs can successfully integrate analytics into a decision-making workflow, including discussing the limitations of analytics today and how to best bridge the gap.
The seminar series continues tomorrow, Wednesday, May 13, before concluding with a third and final session on Wednesday, May 20. Each session runs from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. PT and takes place on a virtual platform. Registration is still open, with allregistration fees being donated to support the Seattle Sounders FC Relief Fund, which supports individuals, nonprofits and small businesses in the neighborhoods surrounding CenturyLink Field.
Interested parties can register at SoundersFC.com/SportsScience. Registration is rolling and remains open throughout the three-week conference period, but participants must be registered no later than 10:00 a.m. PT on a given conference day in order to take part. The $50 registration fee covers all three weeks of presentations and is not prorated by session. Registrants will receive a recorded version of the entire three weeks of presentations following the third and final session.
MEDIA NOTE: Working members of the press can attend the 2020 Sounders FC Soccer Analytics Conference. Interested media should contact Kelly Schutz of Sounders FC Communications [KellyS@SoundersFC.com] to reserve a place.
In addition to hearing from experts in each session, Sounders FC is also offering a new data analytics competition this year. The contest is open to all current full-time students or any analytics enthusiasts that are not employed professionally in the field, with groups of up to two participants maximum. Judging the competition will be: Olly Downs, VP Data & Machine Learning, Zulily; Chris Anderson, Professor in Politics and Policy, London School of Economics; and Sam Gregory, Data Analyst, Sportlogiq. In the final week, judges will share top competition entries with all participants and announce the winner.
Each conference session will consist of a keynote speaker, followed by presentations from practitioners and a roundtable of experts.
This year, headline participants include the following leaders in their fields:
- Billy Beane, Oakland A’s Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations
- Gregg Berhalter, U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team Head Coach
- John Burn-Murdoch, Financial Times, London, Senior Data Visualization Journalist
- Bruno Dagnino, Metrica Sports CTO
- Marcel Daum, Bayer Leverkusen Assistant Coach – Analytics
- Francisco Javier Garcia Cabrera, former goalkeeper coach, Arsenal, Sevilla, PSG, Swansea and RCD Espanyol
- Sudarshan Gopaladesikan, SL Benfica Head of Sports Data Science
- Joe Mulberry, Right to Dream and FC Nordsjaelland Director of Recruitment
- Gonzalo Pineda, Sounders FC Assistant Coach
- Ravi Ramineni, Sounders FC Director of Soccer Analytics
- Karun Singh, Software Engineer in Applied Artificial Intelligence
- Tom Worville, The Athletic Football Analytics Journalist
Additionally, special guests joining these experts for the roundtable portions of the event include London School of Economics Professor in Politics and Policy Chris Anderson, former NBA executive and current owner of Cleaning the Glass Ben Falk, OL Reign Midfielder Jess Fishlock, Co-Founder and CEO of Statsbomb Ted Knutson, Sounders FC General Manager & President of Soccer Garth Lagerwey and Sounders FC Academy Director Gary Lewis. Each session is being hosted by a moderator, including ESPN Senior Writer Gabriele Marcotti, Arsenal FC Vice President of Software and Analytics Sarah Rudd and New York Times Chief Soccer Correspondent Rory Smith.
Those interested in viewing the full event schedule, learning more or registering for the 2020 Sounders FC Soccer Analytics Conference presented by Zulily may do so via SoundersFC.com/SoccerAnalytics.
