Northern Ireland-based STATSports has announced a deal with the Chinese Football Association (CFA) which will see the company provide its APEX wearable player tracking system to all China's national soccer teams. The APEX technology tracks each athlete's performance during practice sessions and games and provides direct and invaluable real-time feedback to coaching staff and players. It measures and analyses physical attributes of players and can provide details on metrics such as distance covered, speed, acceleration, It also gives insights on player load and the level of fatigue and injury risk of the athlete. STATSports' technology is expected to play a key role in helping China reach its goal to qualify, host and win a World Cup within the next 30 years and to get 50 million people in the country playing the sport by 2020. Today's deal follows the Newry-based company's agreements earlier this year with both US Soccer and the Brazilian Football Confederation for its APEX device, which is also used by European champions Portugal, Belgium, England and Ireland. The technology is also used by many of the world’s biggest sporting organisations across the English Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, MLS, NFL, NBA, Rugby Union and International hockey. STATSports' chief global Strategist Jarlath Quinn said the deal with the Chinese Football Association is another fantastic achievement for the company. "Chinese football has received a great deal of coverage over the last couple of years and has made significant investments to ensure they can compete at the highest level in years to come," he added.
Northern Ireland-based STATSports has signed a deal with the Chinese Football Association to supply players for all the country's national football teams with its APEX wearable tech. The company is working on developing an app that will allow fans and coaches access to real-time data from their mobile devices during matches. The Northern Irish firm's technology is already used by US, Brazilian and European clubs.