Northern Ireland Football League Appoints New Official Streaming and Data Partner

The Northern Ireland Football League has announced today that they have signed a long-term contract with TRACKCHAMP, a joint venture between bwin.party digital entertainment and Chyronhego, to be their Official Streaming and Data Partner.

In a deal that is the first of its kind in Northern Ireland, TRACKCHAMP produces real-time streaming video with graphics and will collect performance data for every Danske Bank Premiership game from the start of next season. Such data will include player speed and distance covered, ball speed, the percentage of possession of each team, and many other statistics. TRACKCHAMP will also offer NIFL clubs its video and data analytics tool – TCoach – which will help football coaches analyse the performance of teams and players in a unique way.

Throughout the season over 250 games will be streamed live over the internet, providing global reach, brand awareness and visibility for the League, clubs and its players.

This partnership will also provide up to 20 part-time jobs through the recruitment of independent ‘Match Operators’ who will attend each Premiership and League Cup match throughout the season.

Andrew Johnston, Managing Director NIFL, said:  “TRACKCHAMP is the most innovative project in the area of sports data collection and the fact that we have been able to sign a long-term agreement with them is brilliant news for football in Northern Ireland.

“Sports data collection and analysis has become vitally important not only for coaches and players, but also for fans who like to know the key statistics relating to their team and players. The NI Football League’s mission is to create a vibrant brand and provide a platform for our clubs to improve their quality and image, enhancing the commercial value of the game to achieve a sound and sustainable financial future. This partnership with TRACKCHAMP goes a long way to helping us achieve this goal.”

Martin Füreder, who heads up business-to-business for TRACKCHAMP, said: “We are proud to be working as a team with the second-oldest football league in the world which can now use TRACKCHAMP to help raise the visibility and performance of its clubs.

“The NI Football league clubs can take advantage of and benefit from TRACKCHAMP’s many unique features including live-streaming, data collection and video analysis. ‘He runs, he shoots, he scores’ will now be embellished with all kinds of data to give a very different view of the great game of football.”