https://phys.org/news/2018-06-football-eyes.html

Manuel Stein, a computer scientist and doctoral researcher working in the University of Konstanz's research area "Collective Behaviour," is the man behind this software. He not only designed this software to make the football analysts' job easier, but he also intends to make it easier for viewers to see the patterns of the game—the interactions between players and entire teams as well as the influence they exert on one another. "Everyone in football tries to collect data, but few know what to do with it. We are trying to generate knowledge from this data," explains Manuel Stein.

To turn a computer into a match-play analyst, Manuel Stein must first teach it some basic facts about football. Not necessarily the rules, the names of the teams or where they rank in the league or rankings table, but something much more important: What is the player on the screen, and where is the ball? In which direction are individual players looking, how fast are they moving, how quickly are they likely to reach the ball? The computer is able to determine the position, speed and movement direction of every individual player and of the ball up to 30 times per second. Based on these measurements, it then calculates which player can reach any square metre of the pitch first and how many players from each team pose a threat to that part of the field. It doesn't take more than a fraction of a second to superimpose the results of this calculation on the TV screen: a dynamic, constantly changing map of each team's zones of influence. Using simple colour cues, Manuel Stein's software is able to show TV viewers such match-play influencing factors such as the level of pressure opposing teams place on individual players, the free spaces and safe passing lanes. For all of this, the software neither requires GPS trackers attached to the players' shirts nor complicated camera tracking technology. The only thing that Manuel Stein needs is the TV image.