OLIVER startup democratises data management in amateur sport

These days, the collection of data on the performance of players during matches and its subsequent management are indispensable tasks in any elite football team. This information helps to better understand how athletes behave on the pitch and can be used to make decisions to boost performance. This typical philosophy of high-level competition is now being introduced to amateur and semi-professional football thanks to the startup OLIVER, a Barça Innovation Hub invested company that will be presenting its product as part of this week's Barça Academy World Cup at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper.

The OLIVER team has a stand at the tournament where they will be presenting the details of their technology to the participants and collaborators. Interested individuals or teams will receive a trial version to spend a few days trying out a system that ultimately takes sport beyond the grassroots by adding new challenges, incentives and a gamification component, both for players and coaches.

Data collection via GPS

OLIVER offers a platform to introduce technology to amateur football. It collects data from athletes by means of a small, 15 gramme GPS that is attached to the players’ calves, inside their socks. It records the distance travelled by athletes, their accelerations, maximum speeds, sprints, jogging and walking times, how often they kick the ball and how hard, how much time they are in possession of the ball, and much more.

The information is displayed on an app that monitors athletic and football performance and which teams can use to make changes for the better to their training or game tactics, which can also help to prevent injuries and predict talent.

As part of the Barça Academy World Cup, OLIVER is offering a free information session on its product in the La Masia auditorium. The same talk will also be given to the staff of Barça's academies around the world.

Multiplying Barça’s drive for innovation

The Barça Innovation Hub's holding in OLIVER is one of the first steps in the club's new strategy to invest in startups, and which it has been promoting for the last few months with the aim to drive entrepreneurial talent in the sports sector and capture the value of its growth.

This new line of work will serve to further expand the club's dedication to innovation in an environment where many emerging companies are able to adapt high-profile technologies and solutions faster than large companies.

The new portfolio of startups that will be created (which already includes the company Visualfy) will keep FC Barcelona at the forefront of transformation in the world of sport and, at the same time, will help Barcelona and Catalonia to develop an added-value economy, promoting local talent and attracting global talent, putting the Barça brand at the service of the diversification of the Catalan business fabric.