Million megabit kits: how wearable tech is shaping the future of football
Analyst Gartner expects to see 310.4 million sales of wearable devices worldwide this year, generating $30.5 billion (323.2bn), and IDC expects the market to double by 2021.  Real Madrid use GPS signalling to gather data on the total distance players cover, the distance at high intensity, and the acceleration and deceleration during training or a match. Specialised software is used to analyse data and aid deep learning.
For Real Madrid, arguably the world’s biggest football club, the use of wearables is focused on GPS devices on the back of players’ vests which measures heart rates.

“Using a GPS signal, we can then retrieve data on the total distance they cover, the distance at high intensity, and the acceleration and deceleration during training or a match,” says Carlos Alberto Cruz, physical trainer at Real Madrid.

As Real Madrid coach and former player José María Gutiérrez Hernández explains, this data was not available to players or coaches during most of his time as a footballer, making it difficult to know exactly how they were performing during a training session or match. “It definitely changed, and at the end of my career we had data from everyone from training matches, and that is invaluable for the player,” he says.

Unlike the data that consumers get from personal health and fitness wearables, football clubs can go a step further with the data they collect, using specialised software to analyse it in order to glean more insight into their players.

“We retrieve the data, extract it and analyse it using the software. Then we can compare data with the objectives we set for each session and draw conclusions on how the training went and the player’s form,” says Cruz. “Then we consider how to apply this information to upcoming matches."

The data at hand doesn’t predict whether a player will get an injury or not, but it does help to quantify and control the players’ training loads better, reducing the chances that injuries occur.

Coaches aren’t the only people who benefit from the data at hand. Players can use the data as a motivational tool, getting a better understanding of the areas they need to improve on and setting themselves targets for upcoming sessions and games.