Over the last few years, we have seen a variety of new technological advances in football to help teams and players to improve. One of the latest entrants to the football tech arena is the Playmaker company. The tech brand has launched GPS devices to be worn by players to improve their performances.

Playmaker are not the first tech company to launch wearable devices for footballers. You can see GPS vests worn by players around the world each matchday. What the company is doing differently is the type of device that is available to players. The company launched a sensor that can be attached to a player’s boot and paired with a GPS device. A variety of data is recorded by the device including distance covered, sprint speed, acceleration, and deceleration. Unlike the GPS vest, Playmaker focuses more on the technical side of the game.

GPS vests measure aspects differently due to the placement of the device on the player. The Playmaker device is placed on a player’s boot and it measures the individual’s interactions with the ball. The device can measure kick velocity, the number of touches, the percentage of the usage of a player’s dominant foot versus the non-dominant foot, the number of ball possessions, the number of regains and lost balls, the playing tempo, and more metrics.

Once the data is recorded, it is converted into insights for coaches and players using artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms. These feed the information to mobile devices courtesy of Bluetooth.

Playmaker’s rapid rise in the football world has come partly due to an investment from former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. The football tech company’s aim is to address a player’s technical issues at a young age. In the end, the device will enable players to better develop their technical skills.