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The “Tesis” program on Canal Sur TV focuses on the Sevilla FC Academic Chair at Pablo de Olavide University

The Sevilla FC Innovation Center continues to capture the attention of both insiders and outsiders. The platform where the entire innovation proposal that the club offers to the world of sports converges has been featured in the latest edition of the prestigious ‘Tesis’ program on Canal Sur TV. The television program, focused on the dissemination of the work carried out in all the universities of Andalusia, delved into the promotion and development of R&D&I projects carried out at Sevilla FC., which is the only club that has a chair at a university

It is the ‘Sevilla FC: University, Business, and Sports’ Chair, based at Pablo de Olavide University. This chair is primarily focused on the sports field – sports sciences. The goal is to develop an integrated system of research, training, analysis, information, and dissemination activities in areas related to the university, business, and sports domains. Through this chair, Sevilla FC manages to identify and foster talent, as well as contribute to employability, with over a dozen UPO students joining the club in some of its key departments.

In this latest edition of ‘Tesis’, José María Cruz Gallardo, Head of R&D&I at Sevilla FC, explains the club’s commitment as follows: “Student training starts at the university, but at Sevilla FC what we aim to do is contribute, in each training modality, our bit of knowledge so that this training is as closely aligned as possible with the realities of the market, and specifically, with the unique realities of Sevilla FC. We can provide students with a stable and reliable professional environment in which they can grow and apply the education they receive from the university”.

Meanwhile, Laura López de la Cruz, Vice Chancellor of UPO, summarizes the importance of this initiative in the program: “The Sevilla FC Chair serves a key role, which is to merge the knowledge generated in the university with its practical application in the business and society. It promotes the creation of businesses and sports, and thanks to an organization as significant as Sevilla FC, we achieve greater visibility and reach more people”.

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Sevilla FC showcases its technological muscle at the ‘Football Forum’ in Budapest

Budapest is not only the capital of Hungary but during this week it is also the capital of European football with the celebration of the UEFA Europa League final between Sevilla FC and AS Roma. The Club is present in the city of the Danube not only for its sporting merits, but also for being a reference in technological development in football. Not in vain, it was invited prior to the semi-finals for the ‘Football Forum Hungary 2023’, which was held at the Groupama Arena in Budapest on Tuesday and which dealt with all the current issues in professional football, serving as a meeting point for the exchange of information and knowledge.

Sevilla FC’s presence at the congress was by no means testimonial, but rather played a leading role with two presentations given by Juan Esteban Gómez Llamas, head of digitalisation in the Football R&D&I Department. In the first of these, he explained the Club’s commitment to innovation through its Innovation Center. Specifically, he focused on the use of data for player recruitment and talent development, with tools such as ‘AiFootball’, developed exclusively by Sevilla FC.

In addition, Juan Esteban Gómez participated in a second presentation, together with the delegate and head of business development of LaLiga in Hungary, Jesús Pizarro Bravo, focused on technological development in general. An aspect in which Sevilla FC has been an international reference for several years now. In addition to delving into the origin of this strategic commitment of the Entity, the presentation showed as an example the creation of ‘Transfer Tracker’. A tool devised by Sevilla FC, aimed at optimising economic income from training rights (FIFA’s solidarity mechanism) and which has been marketed internationally through LaLiga Tech. An unprecedented milestone at club level.

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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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Technological Boost for Sevilla FC’s Women’s Academy

The LaLiga Impulse Plan has been a significant advancement for Spanish football clubs in terms of innovation, allowing them to materialize many of their future projects. In the case of Sevilla FC, talking about innovation is discussing one of the pillars of its strategic plan for the coming years. Technological development is a major commitment that is positioning the club at the forefront of European football. This is a path that all areas of the organization are taking, with a particular emphasis on the sports sector, where women’s football plays a significant role in present and future plans.

In this sense, the arrival of the Impulse Plan and CVC funds has facilitated the implementation of technological systems throughout the structure of Sevilla FC’s women’s academy. ‘Our commitment to women’s football is not something new, but this contribution pushes us to grow more in terms of human resources and facilities,’ explains Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo, Monchi, the club’s Sporting Director. ‘The R&D department presented this project to us, and we understood that it was an opportunity to streamline and reduce the time it takes for a player to reach and adapt to the first team,’ emphasizes Amparo Gutiérrez, Director of Women’s Football at the club.

The advent of data and its multiple analyses on a large and small scale has revolutionized the world of football. Sevilla FC realized several years ago that a path of differentiation from competitors was opening up. Through its R&D department, the club developed a strategy to stay ahead of rivals. Now, all these advances are reaching the women’s football division of the organization. ‘There were things to improve, and we want to address them with the women’s performance department, using data to enhance the women’s teams and align their resources with those of men’s football,’ analyzes Monchi.

his project launched by Sevilla FC for its women’s academy will represent a qualitative leap in the physical preparation and training methods of the Sevilla female youth players. ‘All the knowledge we have acquired over the years in the R&D department, we want to make it available to the women’s academy and adapt it to their particularities,’ argues José María Cruz Gallardo, head of that department. Currently, the cadet, youth, and senior teams conduct two sessions per week, meticulously collecting data on speed, endurance, strength, and other parameters for subsequent analysis.

The technological infrastructure that Sevilla FC has acquired in recent years enables the implementation of such an ambitious project. ‘The provision of all the technological equipment we have is a means to achieve performance improvements through the analysis of data obtained with non-invasive methods,’ explains Cruz Gallardo. He recalls a reflection on which Sevilla FC bases its commitment to technological innovation: ‘What is not measured cannot be improved, and what is not improved eventually degrades.

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The technological future of refereeing continues to develop at Sevilla FC’s facilities.

Football is facing a crucial stage for its future. Technological advancements have long been opening up new horizons in both the sports management of clubs and in such crucial aspects as refereeing. FIFA, the world’s governing body in football, has been pursuing a tool for some time that simplifies and automates decision-making, thus helping to make this sport as fair as possible. The international body has found the perfect allies in the company Kinexon and Sevilla FC to develop the desired technologies.

If last summer the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán served as a testing ground for the semi-automatic offside system, in recent weeks, the Ciudad Deportiva José Ramón Cisneros Palacios has been the stage for new tests with geolocation-chipped balls. This technology allows for a detailed analysis of all possible data related to a footballer and the ball, which will help automate decisions such as offside or last-player situations, two of the most controversial and challenging from a human perspective. Technologies like this smart ball, coupled with intelligent image and data capture systems, assist in the day-to-day internal management of a club, allowing for the analysis of individual players as well as the more tactical aspects of the game.

Sevilla FC, through its Data and R&D&I departments and its Innovation Center, is the European club leading technological development, as demonstrated by the creation of its own tools for resource optimization in most of its areas. Even one of them, Transfer Tracker, aimed at claiming economic rights through the solidarity mechanism – for players developed in its academy – has already been commercialized by LaLiga for the rest of the clubs worldwide. Hence, it is one of the few clubs, if not the only one, that possesses the necessary infrastructure – scientific personnel, equipment, facilities, experience, etc. – to implement all the advancements being designed.

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Hydrolimit and Soldier Fly, winning projects of the II UpoEmprende Hackathon sponsored by the chair.

Hydrolimit, a device to regulate or limit water discharge and consumption in medium and low-category hotels and tourist apartments, as well as Soldier Fly, a high-quality protein product for fertilization, made from the treatment of organic waste metabolized by soldier fly larvae, have been the two winning projects of the second edition of the UPOemprende Hackathon—an event for generating ideas to solve a challenge inspired by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This second edition, organized by the Vice-Rectorate for Institutional Relations and Foundations of the Pablo de Olavide University, through the General Directorate of Employability and Entrepreneurship, had 33 students distributed in eight multidisciplinary teams. During twelve hours, they worked to respond to the challenge posed by Recapacicla, which consisted of developing sustainable solutions to address waste issues. During the event, José Viñas, the club’s Sustainability Manager, participated as a mentor.

The jury was composed of Nuria García, Design and Strategy Coordinator in Sevilla at Andalucía Emprende; Javier Ramos, Coordinator of the Employability and Entrepreneurship Area of the UPO Foundation; Pablo Uceda, Vice President of the Association of Free Software Students at UPO ‘Esoliupo’; Juan Esteban Gómez, from the R&D&I Department of Sevilla Football Club; and Cristina Cáceres Moro, CEO of the consulting firm Ciconia and manager of the Recapacicla Universidades program. They were responsible for awarding the two prizes of 800 euros each, sponsored by the Sevilla FC Chair: University, Business, and Sports and the Recapacicla Universidades program. In the closing ceremony, in addition to the jury, participants included the General Director of Employability and Entrepreneurship at Pablo de Olavide University, Amapola Povedano; the Director of the Higher Technical School at UPO, Norberto Díaz, as well as the ambassador of the Sevilla FC Foundation, Antonio Álvarez

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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.

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Renewed agreement for the III Edition of the Sevilla FC Chair: university, business, and sports.

The president of Sevilla FC, José Castro Carmona, and the rector of Pablo de Olavide University, Francisco Oliva Blázquez, renewed the collaboration agreement this Wednesday for the development of the third edition of the ‘Sevilla FC Chair: University, Business, and Sports.’ The objective of this chair is to develop an integrated system of research, training, analysis, information, and dissemination activities related to knowledge transfer, employability, and entrepreneurship in the university, business, and sports fields. Also present at the event were the Vice-Rector for Institutional Relations and Foundations, Laura López de la Cruz, and the Head of the R&D&I Department at Sevilla FC, José María Cruz Gallardo.

José Castro highlighted Sevilla FC’s involvement in all areas of society, particularly in the field of education. ‘We believe that we can contribute to promoting innovation and knowledge from within the university since we are the reference club in LaLiga in terms of technological development,’ he emphasized. He also added that both institutions are strengthened with this Chair and referred to the 25th Anniversary of Pablo de Olavide University, ‘a project that is now a great reality, and we feel part of it.’

On the other hand, in the words of Francisco Oliva, the Chair stands out for its degree of employability, its connection to the entrepreneurial culture, and its social commitment: ‘This Chair works, and it is satisfying that Sevilla FC is committed to it. For the University, synergy with societal agents is very important, especially with such a powerful entity.’ He also highlighted the importance of sports for Pablo de Olavide University and referred to the infrastructure improvements currently underway, such as the new athletics track.

The Chair Council for this third edition will be formed, on the part of Pablo de Olavide University, by the Vice-Rector for Institutional Relations and Foundations and professor of the Department of Private Law, Laura López de la Cruz; the professor from the Department of Sport and Computer Science, Javier Gálvez González, who will direct the Chair; the professor from the Department of Computer Science and director of the Higher Polytechnic School, Norberto Díaz Díaz; and the coordinator of the Employability and Entrepreneurship Area at the Pablo de Olavide University Foundation, Javier Ramos Valenzuela. Likewise, on the part of Sevilla FC, the first vice president of Sevilla FC, José María del Nido Carrasco; the deputy general manager, Jesús Arroyo Sánchez; the head of the R&D&I Department, José María Cruz Gallardo; and Juan Esteban Gómez Llamas, also from the R&D&I Department, will be part of it.

During the development of this Chair, almost a dozen students have joined the club professionally. In addition, 20 training scholarships have been launched, along with four editions of the university expert title, three summer courses ‘360º Sports Management applied to football,’ and an advanced professional development course. The Chair has created the ‘Manuel Blasco Garzón’ award, named after the president of the Seville club between 1924 and 1925, to recognize the excellence of the best Bachelor’s and Master’s Theses carried out by students enrolled at the UPO. It has conducted numerous free webinars for the university community and collaborated in the UPOemprende competition.

Among the activities outlined in the collaboration agreement, the Chair includes advising and preparing reports and other studies; organizing and holding training activities; developing cultural activities; participating in congresses and conferences; and conducting joint research and diagnostic activities. It also involves designing and implementing strategies to promote entrepreneurial culture, open innovation, and support for UPO start-ups and spin-offs; social commitment actions; and the promotion and funding of Strategic Lines of Specific Training Activities at the University.

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The Sports Data Forum returns to the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán

The Sports Data Forum returns once again. Sport Data Campus, the Catholic University of San Antonio in Murcia, and Sevilla FC, through its Innovation Center, have been working for months on the organization of this third edition, with the collaboration of Big Data International Campus, Football Data International Forum, and Eniit Innova IT Business School, and the main sponsorship of Hudl. As in previous years, the format will be hybrid, alternating between on-site and remote sessions, although the entire event will be fully streamed. The kickoff will take place at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium on March 24th with an on-site session featuring the welcome keynote by Víctor Orta, sporting director of Leeds United. Following this, various presentations and roundtable discussions will cover topics such as professional game analysis and the latest trends in Big Data and Artificial Intelligence applied to football. The day will conclude with a closing keynote session by Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo, sporting director of Sevilla FC.

The event will continue over different days and weeks until its definitive conclusion on June 19th. During this time, various themes will be explored, including Big Data and Sports Management, AI applied to Sports, Digital Transformation and Innovation in Football Clubs, Data Ecosystem in Women’s Football, Big Data and Basketball, Big Data and Handball, Technological Entrepreneurship in the Sports Industry, and Professional Elite Analysts. Sessions in English and Portuguese are included, as well as a day dedicated to students. In all these sessions, club professionals will take the lead and share their experiences and knowledge with the students. For more information and registrations, you can visit this link. The club will soon provide information on accessing invitations through its Innovation Center LinkedIn page.

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Final stretch for the start of the IV Master’s Degree in Big Data applied to football scouting

The IV edition of the Master’s Degree in Big Data applied to Football Scouting is in the final stretch of its enrolment period. Sevilla FC has opened the enrolment period for this new course, which will start on 28 March, with the challenge of continuing to break participation records and surpassing the barrier of 200 students between the different editions. In this edition, the students will once again receive direct training from leading figures in the sector such as Monchi and Víctor Orta, as well as different professionals from world-class clubs such as Sevilla FC, Leeds United, Aston Villa, Sporting Lisbon, Villarreal CF and Club Atlético Peñarol. This facilitates not only learning oriented to the working reality of the industry, but also the possibility of direct contact with these professionals and entities.

This Master’s Degree aims both to complete the professional profile of scouts with specific training on how to use data in the service of their work processes, as well as to focus on the professionalisation of the profile of data analysts applied to football. Therefore, the Master is taught by the best professionals in the field. It is a 100% online experience, although one of the sessions will always take place in person at the Sevillian club’s facilities. Although the course does not start until the end of March, students can start the training from the moment they formalise their enrolment, accessing the PreMaster’s course and with the possibility of taking the three preparatory diplomas that are included at no additional cost once the enrolment has been formalised. It should also be noted that places are limited, and you can register from this very moment through this link.

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The year of Sevilla FC’s confirmation of technological leadership

The year 2022 has been the year of confirmation of Sevilla FC’s leadership in technological development within Spanish football. The Club became the first to provide LaLiga with its own technology with the launch of Transfer Tracker, the tool that will allow clubs around the world to activate important economic income through the so-called solidarity mechanism. The success story of Sevilla FC, which, thanks to this technology created and developed by its Data Department, earned more than one million euros in the last four years in transfer fees from players who passed through its teams at training age, is just the tip of the iceberg.

Sevilla FC understood many years ago that there is only one way to fight against the big budgets of its sporting rivals, both in Spain and in Europe: differentiation. Just as under Monchi, the most prestigious sporting director in the world, the Club revolutionised the world of transfers with a different scouting system that created a school of thought, today the key lies in innovation and technological development. Sevilla FC has been able to provide itself with new added value, promoting the most efficient use of data possible, not only in the sporting sphere but in all the Club’s business areas.

Thus, in the summer of 2020 an important investment was made with the creation of a Research and Development Department that started with three professionals and today has 17. This works hand in hand with the Data Department, created in February 2021 and made up of another four employees. A total of 21 professionals dedicated to the research and development of technologies that has so far resulted in the creation of proprietary applications such as ‘AiFootball’, for the work of sports management; ‘AiScouting’, to optimise scouting work; ‘AiRadar’, a tool for the early detection of talent; or ‘AiTracking’, for the registration of training rights on transfers of former players and from which the commercialisation of Transfer Tracker has been derived together with LaLiga Tech

Sevilla FC is developing identical applications for the rest of the Club’s business lines, such as ‘AiTicketing’, to optimise the profitability of seats on match days. “With these applications we achieve greater efficiency in the processes, but above all we make a difference with respect to the majority of clubs, which do not have their own infrastructure and work with suppliers. All of this provides added value in management that will give a key boost to our growth. The alliance with LaLiga Tech to launch Transfer Tracker has been a milestone, which positions Sevilla FC as a leading club in technologies associated with data and the development of its own applications and demonstrates that a firm commitment to technology is capable of generating a net return for the club”, explains Elías Zamora, Chief Data Officer of Sevilla FC.

An international bet

Technological development at Sevilla FC has only just begun. It is said that ambition has no limits, let alone borders. In this way, and also as part of its Strategic Internationalisation Plan, the Club has forged an alliance with none other than India. A country that, with more than 1.38 billion inhabitants, represents an immense market, also for sport. According to a study by the consultancy firm Nielsen, there are 92 million fans really interested in football in India and 37 million with a special interest in LaLiga. Sevilla FC understands that it has a lot to offer in terms of the development of Indian football and the result of this is the collaboration agreement it has signed with FC Bengaluru United.

Bengaluru is the capital of the Karnataka region, a region famous for its technology industry, which generated more than 52 billion euros in exports last year, according to government figures. The amount is similar to the sum of last year’s net profit of the companies in the Ibex 35, Spain’s main stock market index.

Bengaluru is a city known as the ‘Indian Silicon Valley’ for the potential of its technology companies. FC Bengaluru United shares Sevilla FC’s commitment to technology and the philosophy of ambition to achieve important sporting achievements. One of the key points of the agreement is to use Bengaluru’s vast technological expertise to jointly study and develop innovative projects in the world of football. Last summer, the two clubs organised a global hackathon on data-driven performance evaluation of football players. An online meeting point for technology scientists from around the world to exchange experiences and create predictive algorithms to help break down, understand and evaluate player performance.