Call for Proposals
- The Call for Proposals (due Sep 1) is for if you have an idea for a research project and you need our data to do it.
- If you have something you want to present and you do not need our data, see the Call for Abstracts (due Oct 1).
Do you have a cool idea for a research project that you could tackle, if only you had access to some good data? Here is your opportunity! In partnership with SkillCorner, we are excited to offer women’s soccer tracking data to support the researchers who send us the best proposals. Selected researchers will receive data to complete their proposed projects and submit research papers. The authors of the best papers will receive invitations to give brief presentations on stage at the Summit.
Theme
Soccer analytics has traditionally started with the ball—who is making an action with the ball, and what are they doing with it? However, at any given moment in the match only one player (and perhaps another) is actually making an action on the ball. The advent of player tracking data gives us the location of all players, not just the player on the ball, so we are able to better analyze a more complete picture of what is happening on the pitch. The theme for this research contest is valuing off-ball actions. This may include touching on any of the following questions or any original questions dealing with off-ball value:
- How valuable is a defender’s positioning in preventing a goal?
- What are physical characteristics of different pressing strategies? e.g. distance, sprinting, high-speed outputs
- Can we create key events based on what is happening “off the ball” and assign value to these events?
Data
The dataset available to selected research proposals will comprise tracking and event data from SkillCorner covering the 2024 National Women’s Soccer League season (189 matches) and the 2024-25 English Women’s Super League season (129 matches).
SkillCorner Game Intelligence combines and synchronises event and tracking data to create integrated physical, technical and tactical metrics, forming the world’s broadest and deepest football performance dataset for both on-ball and off-ball analysis:
On-ball: Understand passer tendencies and evaluate passing decisions
- Line breaking passes/opportunities
- Dangerous/difficult passes
- Execution under different levels of pressure
On-ball: Identify players that create movement on-ball
- Initiate give and goes
- Receive backward and play forward
- Possession retention when under different levels of pressure
Off-ball: Find players who support the ball carrier effectively
- Options between lines, in space
- Off-ball runs broken down by type and threat
- Off-ball runs that lead to shot and/or goals
Off-ball: Combine tactical and physical insights
- Speeds, trajectory, angles for different types of movements
- Sequences of off-ball runs to create threat
Eligibility
We have two tracks for submission: Undergraduate and Open.
To be eligible for an Undergraduate submission, the lead author of the proposal (who would present on stage at the Summit) must be an undergraduate student (high school is okay). We encourage collaborations, and the team need NOT be composed entirely of students. Each selected Undergraduate proposal will be paired with an academic or industry expert mentor to help them complete their proposed project.
There are no eligibility requirements for the Open track. We encourage collaborations. Only the lead author will be invited to present on stage at the Summit.
Submission
Please submit your proposal as a PDF document (max 1 page, max 10 MB) here.
The deadline for submission is 11:59 p.m. CT on Monday, September 1, 2025.
To facilitate anonymized review, do not include any personally identifying information in the PDF.
Review
We will begin reviewing proposals after the submission deadline and aim to release decisions by late September.
Selected researchers will have a second deadline at the beginning of December to complete their projects and submit their papers. Those invited to present their work at the Summit will be selected by late December.
