Bundesliga Match Facts awarded by World Football Summit

16 November 2020 – With the “Bundesliga Match Facts powered by AWS”, the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga has been offering real-time statistics for Bundesliga matches in cooperation with Amazon Web Services (AWS) since May 2020. The data offering was awarded “Best Digital Platform” at this year’s World Football Summit Industry Awards.

Each Bundesliga Match Fact gives real-time statistics for Bundesliga matches, providing new insights into the action on the pitch. The statistics are generated live from the official match data. There are currently three different types of information available: Expected Goals (xGoals), Speed Alert and Average Positions. They are supplied to national and international broadcasts. Furthermore, they are being used on the Bundesliga’s digital platforms and channels, including the Bundesliga app. This match analysis of the latest match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern München provides an example of the editorial integration of Bundesliga Match Facts. As part of the cooperation between DFL and AWS, additional real-time statistics will be introduced in the course of the current season.

Speed Alert identifies the maximum speed attained by each player during each match. At the same time, an editorial categorization puts these maximum values in context. The Speed Alert is triggered when a speed measured represents a personal best, a team record, a record for the match or the entire season, or even a new Bundesliga record. Thanks to instantaneous data processing, this information is delivered immediately to media partners and hence to the screens at home. Further information about the Speed Alert can be found here.

The xGoals model is able to show the probability of a player scoring a goal in a specific situation. Goal probability is calculated in real time after each shot on goal, giving viewers information on the difficulty of a shot and the likelihood of a goal. A high number of variables, derived from the tracking of positional data, are used in the calculation process, including distance to goal, angle to goal, player speed, number of defenders in line of shot, and goalkeeper coverage. The xGoals model is based on historical data from around 40,000 shots on goal, and will be used in all international highlight clips.

Average Positions tracks players’ average location on the pitch in real time, helping fans to spot individual players and understand changes in play more easily. For instance, the related displays show whether a team is setting up in an attacking or defending style, pressing up the middle, or using the wings more. The data is calculated on the basis of around 3.6 million data points per match.

Further information about xGoals and Average Positions can be found here.