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New Innovation Center Website and Launch of the Master´s Degree in Innovation and Technology

Talking about technology and football means talking about Sevilla FC. The club, which has been at the forefront of technological innovation in football for years, uses its Innovation Center as a hub for all the innovation that Sevilla FC offers the world of sport, as a result of the promotion and development of R&D+i projects that allow the club to respond to the new trends and demands of consumers in the sector. The Center now has a new website, sevillafcinnovationcenter.com, which is now a modern, easy-to-navigate space that will allow knowledge to be shared, offer content and develop talent through a wide range of academic activities.

The launch of this new website coincides with the launch of a new training programme that the Sevilla FC Innovation Center, together with UCAM (Catholic University of Murcia) and the Sports Data Campus, is making available not only to professionals in football, but also to any profile in the world of technology or sport who wishes to delve into the processes of transformation of sports entities based on innovation and technology. This is the Master’s Degree in Innovation and Technology for Sports Entities, different to all those offered to date and which will allow students to acquire the most cutting-edge knowledge on the subject, as well as offering practical content due to Sevilla FC’s own infrastructure. Enrolment is now available on the website.

The Sevilla FC Innovation Center offers a range of academic training in different disciplines related to sport and, specifically, football. Two training courses are currently active, the Master in Sports Law applied to Football and the Master in Big Data applied to Scouting . All the details about both courses are now available on the new Sevilla FC Innovation Center website. The Degree will also be available in English from October.

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The Sevilla FC Innovation Center is now an authorized sports education center

The Innovation Center of Sevilla FC will be able to provide special sports education as it has received official authorization as an Authorized Sports Education Center. In this way, it will be able to offer post-compulsory studies with a variable duration depending on the degree and sports modality, aimed at preparing students for professional activity at different levels and specialties, with the necessary knowledge and skills to develop their work as sports technicians in the specialty of football.

These titles are the only official academic qualifications recognized in the sports field, replacing the previous training for sports coaches and monitors, with academic and professional validity throughout the national territory. They are offered by authorized private sports education centers (CAED) and by the Andalusian Institute of Sport (IAD). They also offer the possibility of direct entry into university studies if one holds the title of Senior Sports Technician. Regarding football, the Sevilla FC Innovation Center will be able to provide various coaching courses, granting students a valid qualification to practice as such throughout the national territory. Consequently, it will allow the club to train the coaches of the future, who will receive a theoretical-practical learning experience within the context of a professional elite football club.

This is another step in the growth of this platform where all the innovation proposals that Sevilla FC offers to the world of sports converge, as a result of the promotion and development of R&D&I projects, and a demonstration of the club’s commitment to the development of talent and professional profiles of all those who wish to train and improve their skills with the Sevilla FC seal.

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More than 25 KFA Coaches complete training programme at Sevilla FC Coaches Academy

Following several years’ experience within the footballing industry, our Innovation Center was established to share our knowledge with others from all over the globe, covering our methodology, technology and sporting development. Last week, a group of coaches from the Korea Football Association (KFA) completed a training course that covered our key values and principles that run from the academy all the way up to the first team

26 coaches took part in the programme that is offered by the Innovation Center, through the SFC Coaches Academy, to football clubs, federations and associations. The Korean coaches spent seven days in Sevilla, attending talks that covered all sporting departments of the club, such as management, methodology, training sessions, psychology and the incorporation of technology, with examples given to demonstrate the differences between age groups.

During their visit, the group from the KFA attended several of our academy’s training sessions from a variety of both girls and boys’ age groups. The majority of the group were coaches at an under 15 level. They finished the week by attending our home match against Villarreal CF and completing the Stadium Tour.

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Coaches from Mjällby AIF participated in the Sevilla FC Coaches Academy program

A delegation of coaches from different categories of the Swedish club Mjällby AIF spent several days undergoing training at the facilities of Sevilla FC. Through the ‘SFC Academy Coaches’ project, the Sevilla-based entity shares all the knowledge and technological tools acquired within its strong commitment to innovation and the establishment of the Innovation Center with other clubs, federations, and associations. In this case, the Swedish coaches attended various technical talks over three days, conducted by responsible individuals from different areas and sports departments of Sevilla FC.

The Swedish delegation received training on physical preparation, scouting, technological innovation, psychological aspects, the functioning of the residence, and training methodology according to age categories. In addition, they observed various youth training sessions on the different fields of the sports city, attended the Youth League match against PSV Eindhoven at the Jesús Navas stadium, and took the Stadium Tour of the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán.

Led by the press officer, James Wahlberg, a confessed Sevilla fan, they also independently attended the UEFA Champions League and LaLiga matches against PSV and Villarreal, respectively, before returning to Sweden.

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Record number of registrations for the 5th Master’s in Big Data.

The sports management is one of the fundamental pillars on which a football club is built, and its adaptation to handling large-scale data is essential today. For this, the work of scouts and analysts is crucial, as they are key personnel in decision-making, and their training is increasingly in demand. Sevilla FC, through its Innovation Center and in collaboration with the Catholic University of Murcia and the Sports Data Campus, co-organizes one of the most reputable training programs in this area: the Master’s in Big Data applied to scouting in football.

It has been three years since the start of this training, and its fifth edition will begin on October 24 with a record number of enrollments. The number of students has increased by a remarkable 35% compared to the fourth edition. This number could increase further, as the enrollment period is still open. Enrollment can be formalized through this link. Master’s in Big Data applied to Scouting in Football in collaboration with Sevilla FC – Sports Data Campus.

The training aims to equip the scouts of the future with the use of digital tools that optimize their work process. An essential matter at a time when there is much discussion about technology, AI, and their impact on workplaces. It represents a development of the professional profile of the scout, enabling them to remain relevant in the market. So far, more than 300 students have completed this prestigious master’s program, providing students with the necessary knowledge to form a ‘Data-Driven’ sports management.

Over the past four editions, students have had the opportunity to do internships in the Data and Analysis departments of Sevilla FC, access internships and job opportunities at other clubs, and develop incredibly interesting final master’s projects.

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Sevilla FC hosts ECA knowledge-sharing conference

Sevilla FC is hosting this week a European Club Association (ECA) knowledge exchange conference, which will take place both at the Ciudad Deportiva José Ramón Cisneros Palacios and at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán. On this occasion, the subject to be dealt with is the methodology followed by the club in its youth academy, one of the most fruitful on the national scene. It will take place over three days, from Tuesday to Thursday, through theoretical and practical training sessions given by Sevilla FC staff, members of the ECA since its creation in 2008.

To do so, the participants will use the training sessions of the teams of the different youth categories. The first two days will be held at the sports facilities, precisely for this purpose. In addition, this Tuesday Sevilla FC will host UD Almería at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán in the seventh LaLiga matchday, which means that the Sevilla stadium will be able to host the final matchday on Thursday. On that day, all the participants, at the end of their final sessions, will get to know the inside of the stadium and all the special features of the Stadium Tour.

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Coaches from the Czech Football Federation got to know the working processes of Sevilla FC’s youth academy.

Sevilla FC has implemented a work formula in its youth academy based on technological innovation and a methodology that many clubs and federations try to adopt. In this regard, many of them visit the club’s facilities, especially its sports city, to get an inside look at the way of working and the tools that are used. In the last weeks of the past season, it was the Football Federation of the Czech Republic that had this privilege.

The expedition, led by former international player and Atletico Madrid alumnus Radek Bejbl, included around ten coaches who spent three days in Seville, immersing themselves in the innovative way Sevilla FC operates in its youth ranks. They did so through training in which Pablo Blanco and Agustín López, as heads of the youth academy, the then still sporting director, Monchi, and various members of the R&D&I Football department participated. The Czech coaches became acquainted with the youth academy structure, the physical planning carried out in the youth ranks, the general training methodology at different age levels, technology applied to performance improvement, data analysis, the operation of the scouting department, and they attended in-person several training sessions.

“We are very pleased to be able to share our work methodology and training with the Czech Republic Federation. They have highly appreciated the work of the different areas, mainly due to all the knowledge and information available about each player. The goal they have is to enhance their trainers’ coaching of their younger players for improvement in decision-making related to the game,” summarized José Ramón Collado Ripoll, Head of the Football Lab at Sevilla FC.

On the other hand, the head of the Football R&D&I department, José María Cruz Gallardo, explains that “as a youth academy club, Sevilla FC is aware of the importance of developing talent through a high-quality training program inspired by a philosophy of continuous improvement and the constant pursuit of excellence as a way of working. For all these reasons, the club makes the knowledge generated by its professionals over its more than a hundred years of history available to society, and these training visits are a perfect example of that.”

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Registration open for the V and VI editions of the Master in Big Data

More than a hundred students have participated and are completing, respectively, the III and IV editions of one of the main courses that Sevilla FC, through its Innovation Center, articulates with universities. We are talking about the Master’s Degree in Big Data applied to football scouting. A training course that had a special day last week at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, no less, and which has already opened the enrolment period for the next two editions. The V and VI editions will begin in October this year and March 2024, respectively. Full information can be found at this link.

In the III edition, which closed last week in Nervión, more than 50 students took part. A similar number to the IV edition, which began in March this year and still has several months of training ahead of it. This master’s degree is organised by Sevilla FC in collaboration with the Catholic University of Murcia (UCAM) and the Sports Data Campus. A master’s degree in Spanish and in an online format that allows students (in these latest editions belonging to up to three continents) to perfect their professional training in data analysis and scouting.

During this season, professionals of the highest level took part, including the former Sevilla FC sporting director, Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo ‘Monchi’, and the current director, Víctor Orta. A considerable number of club professionals from the areas of analysis, scouting and data also participated as luxury lecturers. The Master’s Degree in Big Data applied to football scouting brings together sports directors, analysts and scouts seeking to raise their professional level to the highest level.

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El Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, escenario de lujo para los cursos formativos propios y de LaLiga

El Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán se ha convertido en un escenario de lujo para la celebración de eventos de todo tipo. Un marco ideal que brinda oportunidades como la celebración de jornadas formativas de los distintos cursos que el Sevilla FC, a través de su Innovation Center, ofrece cada año. Esta semana, sin ir más lejos, el templo sevillista acogió la jornada final del Máster de Periodismo Deportivo que organiza junto a la Universidad de Sevilla y otra presencial del Máster en Big Data aplicado al Scouting en fútbol que patrocina junto a la Universidad Católica de Murcia y el Sports Data Campus. Es este último uno de los másteres estrella del programa que ofrece la entidad en su continua colaboración con las universidades y que tanto valor añadido aporta a la marca Sevilla FC. El Máster en Big Data aplicado al Scouting cumple ya cuatro ediciones con más de 200 alumnos que han perfeccionado sus conocimientos y han podido crecer profesionalmente en un sector que aglutina a directores deportivos, analistas y scouts. En esta visita al Sánchez-Pizjuán, realizada el jueves, participaron los alumnos tanto de la III edición, que recibieron sus correspondientes diplomas, como de la IV, que empezó este marzo y finalizará en 2024. Profesionales de distintos departamentos del Sevilla FC, referencia nacional e internacional en el uso del dato y desarrollo tecnológico aplicado al fútbol, fueron quienes impartieron las sesiones formativas. El invitado de lujo fue el nuevo director deportivo del Sevilla FC, Víctor Orta, quien ya participó en las anteriores ediciones como referencia mundial en la materia. Al día siguiente fue el turno para el Máster en Periodismo Deportivo, que cerraba así su curso académico número diez. Organizado por la Facultad de Comunicación de la Universidad de Sevilla, a través del Centro de Formación Permanente, y patrocinado por el Sevilla FC, este máster se cerró con una conferencia magistral a cargo de Ismael Medina, periodista de Movistar. Lo hizo nada menos que en la sala de prensa del Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, que además lleva el nombre de un ilustre periodista deportivo como José Antonio Sánchez-Araújo. Al acto asistieron Pastora Moreno, directora del máster, Enrique López, director de Formación Continua y Complementaria de la US, y el vicepresidente segundo del club, Fernando Carrión, quien destacó el compromiso de la entidad con los medios de comunicación: “El Sevilla FC ha tenido presente siempre que hay que caminar de la mano de la comunicación, de ahí la apuesta decidida, desde los albores del presente siglo, por tener un Departamento de Comunicación potente, acorde a la entidad, creciendo con ella y sensible a las nuevas tecnologías y la actual digitalización de la información. Para nosotros es un orgullo poder colaborar con la Facultad de Comunicación a través de este máster desde su primera edición, formando a periodistas”. Nueva visita de LaLiga Business School Pero el templo sevillista no sólo se convierte en un ‘aula’ de lujo para los cursos y másteres propios, sino que asiduamente es elegido por LaLiga Business School para celebrar jornadas especiales de muchas de sus ofertas académicas. Si en abril hubo visita de los alumnos del Máster de Derecho Deportivo y en mayo de estudiantes provenientes de Hong Kong, estos días han sido los del Máster en Dirección, Metodología y Análisis en el Fútbol. Dichos alumnos tuvieron la oportunidad de conocer el club desde dentro y su gestión en las distintas áreas y departamentos: captación en cantera -dirigida por David Martín Valle, scout de escalafones inferiores del Sevilla FC-, dirección deportiva -por Fermín Galeote, miembro de dicho departamento- y el uso del dato para el scouting por Jesús Olivera, responsable de Data Football en el club.
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The youth academy meeting concludes with the presentation of the pioneering technological model of Sevilla FC.

“The VII Youth Academy Meeting concluded this Tuesday at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán with the presentation of the technological model implemented by Sevilla FC in its youth ranks and the anticipated updates expected in the coming months as part of LaLiga’s National Youth Academy Optimization and Improvement Plan. Sevilla FC is a pioneer in the development and utilization of technological tools aimed at optimizing all processes related to youth development. Additionally, through LaLiga’s Impulse Plan, the club envisions a series of investments for the future. The two-day congress served as a platform for the club to showcase key aspects of using various technological tools in everything related to the youth academy. In the words of José María Cruz Gallardo, head of the club’s R&D department, ‘It is an honor that we have been chosen as a reference in terms of technology, work processes, and infrastructure. The player recruitment and development process is multifactorial, and we try to translate all of that into variables that we can analyze, quantify, and transform into a 360º view of the player. Everything is aimed at helping make the best possible decisions within the youth player development process, that is, within our youth academy’s strategic plan.'” All LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank clubs, present in this seventh edition, exchanged information, experiences, and advancements within a joint project through which LaLiga aims to position Spanish clubs ahead of the rest of their European competitors. Special interest was shown in articulating a legal advancement that provides protection to clubs regarding young talents who, with a simple change of residence, leave their training teams. “The future of Spanish football lies in the youth academies,” emphasized Monchi, the sporting director of Sevilla FC, on the first day. The key to improvement is sharing methodologies and information to seek feedback that aids in self-reflection, correction, and growth. “Nothing is luck, and the example is in this season. Initially, there was no bad luck, and now it’s not a matter of good luck either; it’s about reflecting, self-critiquing, and achieving the desired improvement,” explained Monchi.
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Sevilla FC participates in the workshop for the co-construction of the ‘OlavideDual’ model.

Sevilla FC was present at the I Workshop ‘Building the Olavide Dual Model.’ Specifically, the Head of the R&D department of the club, José María Cruz Gallardo, was responsible for representing the Nervión club in a project with the main goal of generating shared knowledge among the entities involved in the learning ecosystem in the Dual Teaching Model for the construction of a valid and successful model. Dual university education combines theoretical and practical training. It is worth noting that this is materialized through a collaboration agreement between the University and the Company, where the student alternates between classroom training and work in the business entity, acquiring skills and knowledge to enhance employability.

Inaugurated by Francisco Oliva Blázquez, the Rector of Pablo de Olavide University, along with Amapola Povedano Díaz, the Director General of Employability and Entrepreneurship, this event has seen the participation and attendance of other companies. They have shared the analysis of the current situation, identifying the needs and demands of companies and entities, evaluating available resources, defining objectives, and identifying obstacles and opportunities.

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The IV Master’s in Big Data Applied to Football Scouting has started.

Last Tuesday, the IV Master’s in Big Data Applied to Football Scouting was officially presented. This course is offered through collaboration between the University Católica de Murcia (UCAM), Sevilla FC, and the Sports Data Campus. The Nervión club, through its Innovation Center, maintains a close collaboration with various universities, resulting in courses like this one, aimed at training over 50 students who have already received their first class from Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo, Monchi, Sporting Director of Sevilla FC.

In this edition, students will once again receive direct training from leading figures in the industry. In addition to Monchi, renowned professionals such as Víctor Orta, sporting director of Leeds United, and representatives from clubs such as Aston Villa, Sporting Portugal, Villarreal CF, or Club Atlético Peñarol will be present during the training sessions. The Master’s in Big Data Applied to Football Scouting equips sporting directors, analysts, and scouts in the football field for better performance within the world of football and provides them with tools to adapt to the demanding and changing environment of the sport. New technologies offer an opportunity to differentiate oneself from the main competitors.

Throughout all its editions, this master’s program has had more than 200 students who have found the opportunity to train and grow professionally in the industry. For information on participating in future editions, all details can be found at this link.