Call for Proposals

The call for proposals is now closed for the 2025 American Soccer Insights Summit.

Theme

Soccer is a sport of match-ups: how does one team match-up against another; how does an individual player match-up against an opponent player; how does one strategy match-up against another? The theme for this research contest is the open-ended concept of match-ups in soccer. All proposals should in some way address how a specific match-up in soccer can be analyzed using data. This may include touching on any of the following questions or any original questions dealing with match-ups:

  • Methods to quantify individual player match-ups (ex. A winger against an opposing full-back)
  • Analyzing the efficiency of various formations or tactics against each other
  • Analyzing the efficiency of various pressing methods against different build-up approaches

Data

The dataset available to selected research proposals will comprise tracking and event data from SkillCorner covering the 2023 National Women’s Soccer League season (132 matches) and the 2023-24 English Women’s Super League season (132 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.

Review

We will begin reviewing proposals after the submission deadline and aim to release decisions by early December. Selected researchers are expected to complete their projects between early December and late January.