UEFA and Eredivisie host new data-driven perimeter board player graphics combination

At recent football matches in Denmark and the Netherlands, ChyronHego introduced a new combination with the company’s Tracab optical tracking system and Click Effects’ Prime graphics authoring system.

For both matches, ChyronHego worked with competition organisers, teams and their sponsors to create a new LED perimeter board display at pitch level that graphically tracks a player’s movements, including stats such as speed and distance travelled using real-time Tracab data.

The first competition match to host this Tracab-Prime combination was a UEFA Nations League match between Denmark and Republic of Ireland on 19 November, driven by the Danish Football Association (Dansk Boldspil-Union or DBU) and sponsored by Denmark’s national lottery provider and DBU Sponsor, Danske Spil A/S.

The next match, on 2 December, was between Heracles Almelo and VVV-Venlo in the Netherlands’ Eredivisie league and represented the first time the technology was provided at the domestic league level. Both DBU and the Dutch Eredivisie football league are current users of Tracab to capture player and team performance analytics. Tracab optical tracking is installed league-wide in both the Danish Superliga (where DBU play their home games in league stadia) and Eredivisie stadiums.

“The idea of combining live, real-time Tracab data with Click Effects Prime had been discussed with some of our key sports customers for a while,” said Niall Hendry, product manager, ChyronHego. “Finally, with these two productions, we were able to prove how well the two systems complement each other and how compelling data-driven player graphics can be, not only for captivating fans but for creating new sponsor opportunities and revenue streams.”

With the Click Effects Prime software serving as an integrated graphics authoring front-end, operators are able to generate and control the LED presentations without the need for specialised training or sophisticated computer graphics equipment. They can access the lineup for the match and then choose which player to assign to the LED boards.

“Traditional rotating arena ads tend to be disconnected from the players and the action, but this solution takes sponsored graphics to a whole new level,” said Teus Groenewoud, director of product development, ChyronHego. “With the cameras trained on a player and the specialised LED graphic behind him following his movements and displaying his real-time data, sponsors have an unprecedented opportunity to engage viewers and hold their attention. They can even build promotions around the data; for example, a sportswear brand could promote the player with the top speed who is wearing the brand’s boots.”

Rob Toussaint, managing director of the Netherlands’ Heracles Almelo football club, added, “One of our core values is innovation. This collaboration with ChyronHego has proven that we can continuously offer our sponsors exposure in new and innovative ways.”

The Tracab-Prime application at the DBU match holds particular promise for the sports betting industry, considering the sponsorship by Danske Spil, Denmark’s national lottery and betting organisation. With football fans’ huge and growing appetite for player and club statistics, betting companies will be able to present and leverage the data in new and profitable ways — and even eventually put odds on factors such as player speed and distance covered.

“We have been using the Tracab data for some time to help analyse and improve team and player performance, and now we’ll be able to leverage that data in new and compelling ways. As our official betting partner, Danske Spil was really excited to see the potential that this new application holds for differentiating them and engaging viewers,” said Matthias Rønn, senior commercial manager, DBU.

“Now that we’ve proven the concept of the Tracab-Click Effects Prime solution for our men’s teams, we’re looking forward to working with ChyronHego to expand it to our women’s and under-21 clubs. It’s a win for everyone: fans, sponsors, and clubs.”