Stats Perform Expands Partnership With Football DataCo, Adding “New Entertainment Dimension”

LONDON – 12 December 2024 – Stats Perform, the global leader in sports AI, data and technology today confirmed it has expanded its long-term exclusive official media data partnership with Football DataCo (FDC), in an agreement that also sees its Opta sports data brand become the official insights provider for FDC competitions, including the Premier League.

The extended relationship reinforces Stats Perform’s and Opta’s position at the heart of highest-quality data-led experiences for fans, sponsors and media partners of the world’s most watched domestic sports competitions, delivering consistent, trusted and reliable data feeds and AI-powered innovations to help clients in every corner of the planet grow audiences and revenues, and bring fans closer to the game. 

The agreement covers exclusive official data for all FDC competitions, including the Premier League, Sky Bet Championship, League One and League Two and Scottish Professional Football League and Scottish Women’s Premier League. 

Key highlights of the expanded partnership include: 

• Exclusively collecting and distributing official media data: Stats Perform’s Opta will continue to exclusively collect and supply detailed official statistical data for FDC competitions to leagues, clubs, stadiums, sponsors, match centres, scoreboards, digital workflows, apps and publications across the world, to provide fans with the greatest access to the highest quality data-led experiences for the leagues. 

• Official data for domestic and international broadcasters: Opta will continue to supply data to broadcasters of FDC competitions to illuminate coverage via on-screen graphics, studio analysis and by commentary teams, increasing viewers, viewing time and sponsorable inventory. 

• Official insights: From the start of the 25/26 season, Opta and its OptaAI tools will generate advanced AI-powered, data-led insights for FDC competitions that are easily adopted in regular coverage, empowering broadcasters and media to unlock new levels of fan understanding about every play and player on the pitch, enriching the on-field action and making storytelling even more compelling.

“Opta puts an enormous effort into collecting the highest quality sports data and our proprietary AI technologies to create the most interesting insights, supplying products that are easy for our clients to adopt and delight their fans,” said Alex Rice, Chief Commercial Officer of Stats Perform. “As such we are proud to have been chosen by FDC to extend our exclusive long-term partnership with them, and the leagues and clubs they represent. Being fans ourselves, it’s always a thrill to see the intrinsic role of our Opta data and AI in elevating the stories of the teams and players so beloved all over the world. That our next chapter with UK football also includes supplying official insights means even more memorable broadcast and media coverage about superstar players and unsung heroes, and even more entertaining experiences for fans and sponsors. We’re excited to see the ideas come to life.”

“Stats Perform and its Opta team have been deeply embedded in providing official data for UK football for fifteen years and together we keep raising the bar to provide insights for football fans,” said Adrian Ford, General Manager of Football DataCo. “We’ve already got innovative plans underway to further drive the appeal of UK football.  We’re looking forward to seeing the impact these plans will bring to our broadcaster and media partners, and the way they will engage fans of our leagues, teams and players, all over the world.”

The announcement of Stats Perform’s expanded partnership with FDC comes shortly after the sports AI, data and technology leader won the SBC Award for Best Sports Data Product for the third year in succession. Its Opta data and products are relied upon by professional teams for detailed, reliable match and player performance analysis as well as for rich storytelling and entertainment by media, broadcasters, technology companies, stadiums, sponsors and billions of fans globally.