Following the announcement of the return of the Opta Forum to London in 2026, we are pleased to confirm that submissions are now being accepted for the event’s annual data analytics competition.
For over ten years, the data analytics competition has provided practitioners, working outside of professional football, with the opportunity to propose alternative approaches to specific areas of player and team analysis, through the application of the latest cutting-edge performance metrics, before presenting their findings on stage to leading professionals working in the industry.
Many key figures working in football today, who are now leading forward-thinking departments across AI engineering, data science and analysis, previously participated in the Opta Forum competition and shared their own key findings from successful proposals. This includes several presenters from the previous London edition of Opta Forum in 2024, who are now employed at clubs in England and mainland Europe.
To reflect how the in-depth analysis of football is now no longer solely confined to the training grounds of elite professional clubs, this year’s competition also features two new categories relating to how data can be applied intelligently to enhance media storytelling.
Research Questions: Powered by Opta Vision
The primary objective of Opta Forum’s data analytics competition is to ensure each stage presentation directly addresses a key challenge, relating to player recruitment, analysis or a specific content channel, which can enhance an existing process and crucially, be applied in real-life across a wide range of settings.
With this in mind, candidates putting forward proposals will once again have the opportunity to work with AI-enriched Opta Vision metrics, including recently launched Off-Ball Run and Phases of Play outputs, to propose novel solutions to their specific area of research.
The chosen finalists in each category will also have access to player tracking data to further build out the concepts showcased in their initial proposal.
Submissions that cover any of the below will be considered:
Media Research Questions
Category One, Broadcast: Through applying Opta Vision data, propose a methodology for identifying how different teams attempt to bypass an opposition’s high press. Using this method, demonstrate how you would present these insights to a wider broadcast audience using on-screen data visualisations.
Enriched Data Points Available: Phases of Play, Off-Ball Runs, Pass Predictions, Pressures, Line-Breaking Passes
Category Two, Digital Storytelling: Using Opta Vision data, propose a method for comparing the on-ball decision-making of different players in relation to their passing. Using this method, demonstrate how you would visually compare and present key differences in relation to on-ball passing tendencies as part of an engaging, long-form editorial feature.
Enriched Data Points Available: Off-Ball Runs, Pass Predictions, Pressures, Line-Breaking Passes
Note for candidates: Proposals in this category should primarily apply Pass Predictions (Expected Pass Completion and Expected Threat) to evaluate a players’ on-ball decision-making.
Performance Research Questions
Category One, Analysis: By applying Opta Vision data, propose a methodology for identifying how different teams in possession attempt to bypass an opposition’s high press. Using this method, also outline how you would measure a team’s effectiveness at breaking a high press.
Enriched Data Points Available: Phases of Play, Off-Ball Runs, Pass Predictions, Pressures, Line-Breaking Passes
Category Two, Recruitment: Using Opta Vision data, propose a method of profiling and evaluating players based on their passing tendences. Your method should consider both the quality of the passes a player attempts and other pass options they have on the ball but choose not to attempt.
Enriched Data Points Available: Off-Ball Runs, Pass Predictions, Pressures, Line-Breaking Passes
Note for candidates: Proposals in this category should primarily apply Pass Predictions (Expected Pass Completion and Expected Threat) and Off-Ball Runs for this category.
Category Three: Open Submissions – Opta Vision data (excluding aggregated fitness data).
Entry Information
The research competition will be split into two stages.
From now until Monday 9th February 2026, you must submit an initial proposal (2 pages of A4 max, in a word format). To assist with preparing an initial submission, you can request access to a small data sample of matches specific to the category (or categories) you wish to enter. Note that during stage one, only Opta event and Opta Vision enriched metrics will be included within the sample set – with tracking data available from stage two.
After 9th February, the proposals judged to be the strongest across every category will then proceed to a second stage, where candidates have four weeks to start building out their projects, using an expanded dataset, and submit presentations outlining their initial findings.
To access any of the sample datasets, please email optaforum@statsperform.com with ‘Opta Forum 2026 data request’ as the subject. As well as indicating the data sample you require, the email body should include a very brief introduction to your idea or proposal.
Key Information: Stage One
Entries will be judged on the following criteria:
Innovation: Is the idea new? Has it been seen or tried before? Has it even been thought about or discussed before?
Relevance: How useful is this research to professional teams or storytellers ? Does it answer the ‘so what?’ question?
Application: How can this research be applied? On the Pro side, this may relate to recruitment processes, tactical analysis, player development pathways or additional areas. On the media side, this will relate to the idea’s effectiveness at communicating the insights in an accessible, easy-to-understand format, including relevant visualisations.
Deadline for Submissions: Monday 9th February 2026.
Successful entries, recommended for progression to stage two, will be notified by Wednesday 11th February 2026.
Key Information: Stage Two
After being provided with an expanded 50 match dataset to build out preliminary research, candidates will be required to submit the following:
- A Google Colab notebook, to showcase your analysis and method.
- A 5-10 minute video presentation to describe your method.
- A Powerpoint presentation.
Deadline for Second Submissions: Monday 9th March 2026.
The five strongest entries, selected by our judging panel, will be invited to continue their work and present their findings on stage at the Opta Forum in London. Media categories will be presented on Tuesday 24th March and Performance categories will be presented on Wednesday 25th March. The remaining candidates involved in stage two, but not selected for presentation, will also be given the opportunity to present their results on a poster display at the event in London.
The results of the judging will be confirmed to candidates by 11th March 2026.
What to Include In Your Initial Proposal?
Your proposal should focus on answering the specific question, sharing insight on the approach taken and how this research can be applied within the professional environment linked to the question.
Candidates should avoid submitting proposals which adopt approaches and methodologies which have already been showcased at previous editions of the Opta Forum and other analytics events, unless they are explicitly looking to build-on and enhance existing work.
In addition, please remember that your final findings will need to be anonymised if your project is selected for presentation in London.
Proposals should include the information below, be a maximum of two pages and sent in a Word document. Images, videos and external links can be included along with any other relevant information.
– Name
– Address
– Contact information
– Are you submitting on behalf of a commercial organisation (yes/no)
– Have you worked with player tracking data before (yes/no)
– Submission category
– Title of project
– Research question
– Objective of this research
– Rationale for chosen topic
– Your approach to answering this question
– The applications of this research within a professional football environment and how this work will help teams win
Please submit proposals via email: optaforum@statsperform.com.
Need Further Information?
For more information on the 2026 Opta Forum, including examples of previous presentations at the event, please contact optaforum@statsperform.com.
