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.
its facilities to modern times. The new Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán has the commitment and the need to be a venue prepared for 21st century football, located in the same place as the current stadium after demolishing the previous one, without forgetting the history of the place, of the Nervión district and respecting the moments of glory that the current stadium has given Sevillismo. But at the same time it combines new airs, new resources and new comforts for the Sevillistas and for the club, which wants to make the new stadium one of the cornerstones of its strategic plan.
The new Sánchez-Pizjuán will not only be a sports venue of reference, but will also be an outstanding building in the city of Seville, which will be linked to the incomparable urban history of the city, its culture and its heritage. The design of the preliminary project, developed with IDOM, seeks to identify the key values in the great stages of Seville’s history through the reference to great examples of its architecture and cultural heritage such as the Real Alcázar, the Archive of the Indies or the Cathedral of Seville, to project them into a new Stadium that is contemporary, sustainable, technological and rooted in the city’s tradition.
In addition, the proposed design for the new stadium takes into account the following key aspects:
Renew the tradition of LA BOMBONERA DEL NERVION and further enhance the incredible football atmosphere for a full spectator experience.
To place the Nuevo Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán at the level of a reference infrastructure for the highest levels of football, through the use of the MOST ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES applied to security, television broadcasting, fan experience and sustainability.
Working in the public interest through a careful relationship between the new stadium and its URBAN CONTEXT, respecting the scale of the Nervión neighbourhood on the one hand and generating urban public space that can be enjoyed by residents 365 days a year, with new associated uses, on the other.
The integration of these elements is carried out with an ambitious, contemporary and identifiable architectural proposal, which will make the Nuevo Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán a new metropolitan landmark for Seville.
The seating capacity will be increased to 55,000 spectators, with a grandstand that will be very reminiscent of our current stadium, close to the pitch, facing the grass, but which will increase comfort, generate a new and numerous Hospitality offer and create a new continuous background for local entertainment, unprecedented in Spanish football. All of this, together with the new roofing of all the stands, will create an even greater footballing atmosphere for Sevilla fans than that of our current stadium. Not only that, but it will also allow for a substantial growth in Sevilla FC’s activities both in national competitions and in international competitions and other events. The new stadium will have two floors of parking and will substantially eliminate the number of stairs in the stadium. It will also include lounges and spaces for the organisation of events, as well as a new official shop and the new club museum.
Another important point in the proposal and an essential element in the design of the best modern urban stadiums is their relationship with their surroundings. The programme proposed for this new stadium allows activity to take place 365 days a year, so that, as well as allowing the clubs to expand their relationship with visitors and generate new revenue streams, they can participate in a prominent way in the creation and improvement of the urban spaces in their vicinity. This is what happens in the design of our new stadium: an open stadium related to its immediate surroundings, especially with the creation of a south façade that overlooks the square, which proposes terraces and other uses accessible to citizens and which, through a generous shaded space, activates the urban environment, transforming it into the new Plaza de Nervión and of Seville. A versatile, flexible square, a shaded, ventilated and cool space, a main entrance to the stadium, the new face of Sevilla FC.
For all these reasons, the New Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, which will have to be approved by the General Assembly, will be an innovative stadium, an international benchmark and an example of the new generation of stadiums, heir to the traditional values of Sevilla FC, with new revenue streams, with activity all year round and a driving force for activity in the Nervión district.
The ‘Sevilla FC: University, Business and Sport’ Chair at the Pablo de Olavide University (UPO) has opened the call for entries for the third edition of the Manuel Blasco Garzón Award. This award recognises the excellence of the best Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Final Projects presented by students enrolled at the UPO, both in official degrees and in lifelong learning. The aim of this award is to encourage study, initiation to research and the transfer of knowledge in different fields of knowledge.
The rules of the call for entries and the procedure for submitting nominations can be done through this link. Entries can be submitted until 31 December and the prize will be awarded on 15 February 2024. So far, the work of six graduating students has been recognised, with the Faculty of Sports Sciences and the Faculty of Experimental Sciences having won all the prizes, with topics such as the analysis of the reliability of jump and sprint tests, the characterisation of fibroblasts derived from patients and pharmacological screening or polyphenolics as a therapy in Crohn’s disease.
This award pays tribute to the memory of Manuel Blasco Garzón, former president of Sevilla FC under whose mandate the club won two Andalusian Cups, the first doctor in the club’s history was hired, the first training camps were organised and the Reina Victoria Stadium hosted the Spanish Cup final between FC Barcelona and Club Arenas de Guecho. Not forgetting that he welcomed on his board a young man called to write the best pages of the club’s history: Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán. Blasco Garzón was also an omnipresent figure in the social and cultural life of Seville at the time, being, among other positions, president of the Seville Athenaeum and promoter of projects aimed at bringing culture to the neighbourhoods and contributing to the education of citizens, helping in the fight against illiteracy.
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.
Sevilla FC, represented by Elías Zamora, the Director of the Data Department, held a meeting with international media at LaLiga headquarters in Madrid. A session that took place last weekend in which the club showcased its commitment to technological development and innovation. The strategy pursued by the organization has been pivotal in the sporting successes achieved during the 21st century and has been diversifying it into other areas of the football business.
With the title Sevilla FC: A Benchmark in Innovation and Data Area Development, LaLiga highlighted Sevilla FC’s performance as a success example in these fields, where it has become an international reference in the world of football. Elías Zamora explained the complexity of the football business model and how the acquisition and interpretation of objective data-based information can aid economic growth: “We aim, through technology, innovation, and Big Data, to extract valuable information to create new products and services that can generate economic income from various sources”.
The club’s already developed technological projects were brought to light and sparked the interest of all the media representatives present, hailing from three different continents. These are the cases of ‘AiFootball’, ‘AiScouting’, ‘AiRadar’ -to detect early talent in other leagues through technical and tactical parameters adapted to the philosophy of Sevilla FC -, ‘AiTicketing’ -that allows predicting attendance at upcoming matches based on their previous behavior -, ‘AiFans’ and ‘AiSponsoring’. Furthermore, ‘Transfer Tracker’, a project developed in collaboration with LaLiga Tech following an initial prototype conducted at Sevilla FC called ‘AiTracking’ and has been a worldwide success.
In this technology conference, Miguel Ángel Leal, Director of the Office of Technology and Innovation at LaLiga, and José Luis Quintero, Head of Customer Success at LaLiga Tech, also participated. Both of them discussed the technology they use in their fight against piracy, the evolution of Mediacoach, which helps minimize the risk of injury in football, the OTT LALIGA+, and the technological aspect of LaLiga Impulso, aimed at accelerating the development of clubs to increase their profits.
The last 12 months have brought further recognition for Sevilla FC not only through titles, but also through brand image and international expansion. Before and after the UEFA Europa League trophy won for the seventh time in Budapest, Sevilla FC has completed a calendar year of steady growth in the number of followers. According to its report on The 20 best clubs in the world on social networks, the Football Benchmark website, which specialises in football and data, has highlighted the exponential growth of the club in the last 365 days: only Inter Miami and Al-Nassr FC, the teams of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, respectively, have grown more than Sevilla FC since September 2022.
In this way, the club consolidates its strategic internationalisation plan and increases its lead as the fourth Spanish club with the most followers: 15.6 million. The growth in followers in these 12 months has more than doubled the number of followers accumulated in September 2022, specifically to 101%: 7.8 million followers among all its official profiles. Figures that, once interpreted, lead to an even more enlightening analysis. This 101% growth has only been surpassed by the two aforementioned clubs, where the two most recognised stars of football in recent decades play. The American team has grown by 1,197% with the arrival of Messi, while Cristiano’s Al-Nassr FC has increased its followers by 487%.
A few months ago, Sevilla FC was the seventh fastest growing club on social networks in China, a strategic country of the first order not only for the club but for all the big clubs in Europe. The strategy of generating content adapted to each social network, to each country and always in line with the values and style of the Club, the commitment to digital transformation, the Strategic Internationalisation Plan and the epic that has always accompanied its sporting successes against the most powerful clubs have allowed it to generate empathy and international attachment reflected in some truly remarkable figures beyond our borders. In Spain, for several months now, only Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have accumulated more fans around the world than Sevilla FC.
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.
Sevilla FC has been present this week at the prestigious ‘Sport Summit Leaders’ congress held in Argentina, where it was represented by Juan Esteban Gómez, the club’s coordinator for digitization and continuous improvement. He did so by sharing with the attendees the innovation and data management model for professional football carried out by Sevilla FC, which was described by the event’s moderator as “a success story and a model to follow,” considering the results achieved
Since 2019, when the ‘Innovation Center’ was launched as a meeting point for the innovative proposals that the club offers to the sports industry, the number of projects that provide added value through work processes has been increasing. “We need to generate capital gains and new business lines, which is why the project is not just a one-time need,” said Juan Esteban, before gradually explaining the work that is being carried out. “Making mistakes is allowed, but not trying is not,” he added when explaining the creation of three key areas: R&D&I, Data, and Innovation Center.
The R&D&I area comprises four pillars: Medicine and Sports Science, Data Football, Analysis and Digitalization, and Performance. All with the aim of “contributing to the achievement of the sporting goals through the pursuit of excellence by means of research, development, and the implementation of technology and methodologies that improve the first team’s results,” in the words of Juan Esteban. Another concept conveyed referred to the importance of sharing knowledge: “If we want to innovate, it’s foolish to think that we have all the knowledge ourselves; we should invite people and companies that want to become part of our organization.”
The representative of Sevilla FC also explained projects that have been implemented and are the result of the organization’s technological commitment., one of these projects is AI FOOTBALL, which aims to search for and characterize players; AI RADAR, which has become a “lighthouse” for tracking the market; AI TRACKING, which has subsequently been commercialized with LaLiga Tech as TRANSFER TRACKER, a service for all clubs worldwide that helps determine the corresponding training rights for your players; AI TICKETING, an AI-based platform that predicts stadium attendance at Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán; AI FANS, currently in development to better understand and interact with fans; and AI PATROCINIOS, which enables sponsor scouting.
Juan Esteban concluded by emphasizing the importance of people with an inspired focus to build work processes based on continuous improvement supported by technology.
The digital transformation at Sevilla FC continues its irreversible process at cruising speed. A strategic commitment that is optimising all areas of the club in search of improved results. The latest milestone in this digitalisation process took place this summer, when the first 100% digital season ticket renewal campaign was launched with undoubted success. The figures speak for themselves: more than 93% of renewals carried out, all available seats at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán sold and record membership figures after the deadline for new registrations in the Red and White categories opened this week.
But undoubtedly, the data that most confirms the success of the campaign is the fact that hardly any incidents have been recorded. Neither in the renewal process nor in the change of seats, which is usually the process that causes the most problems. The facilities offered by the club to its season ticket holders and the implementation of an appointment system for the over 65s, thus bridging the so-called digital divide, were decisive for the success of this campaign. In addition, Sevilla FC provided its season ticket holders with a personalised help and advice service, both by email and telephone, to facilitate the management and resolution of doubts.
Digitalisation is the big change that Sevilla FC is facing as part of its Strategic Plan and is closely associated with the commitment to technological development that has made the club a global benchmark. There are already almost ten applications developed by the Data, Digital and R+D+i departments, with the Transfer Tracker tool as a major milestone, after LaLiga Tech decided to support and market the product created by Sevilla FC. In this sense, and with the aim of seeking the best experience for our fans and supporters, a new tool, called AiFans, continues to be developed, which will allow a 360º description of the fan in order to better understand their interests and needs.
The digital transformation undertaken by the club has been reflected in the 2022-23 season in extraordinary data such as the growth in the Sevilla FC Database, which has reached 45% compared to the previous season. The greatest growth in this sense has been experienced outside our borders, with an increase of 224% in international registrations. Likewise, on Social Networks, Sevilla FC has consolidated its position as the fourth club in Spain in terms of followers, with well over 13.1 million followers among all its official profiles. In addition, the Club has made progress in its commitment to e-learning, a digital platform for internal training through which it makes available to all its employees the knowledge acquired in its different departments, with the aim of continuously developing its employees.
Sevilla FC is launching, on its ticketing portal, a new system in the club’s history, which will allow Sevilla fans to purchase tickets, from today, for all LaLiga matches to be played at the Sánchez-Pizjuán, with the exception of those against Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Atlético de Madrid and Real Betis, respectively. This system will also be completely online.
Likewise, the season ticket holder will also be able, from this moment on and from his membership portal, to give up his seat for each and every one of the matches he wishes so that another Sevillista can take his place.
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.”
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.
