This blog is about current Sport Business and Innovation MSc student, Carl McMullen, who has had the opportunity to work with Football Matcher and Sport Tech Hub as part of the Digital Skills Programme at Loughborough University London. Find out more what Carl has been up to below.

Do you remember playing football? Chasing the ball around the park with your mates. Football is coming home; With Boris announcing that hopefully, on the 29th March, sport can return.

Students at Loughborough University London have the opportunity of joining the Digital Skills programme in association with Sport Tech Hub. The Sport Tech Hub by London Sport was created to grow, support and accelerate startups to make London more active. Students are able to develop and implement new skills learnt through the programme and apply them within a real-world situation.

Football Matcher is part of the Sport Tech Hub 2020/21 innovation programme enabling them to accelerate their mission to create more affordable and accessible football playing opportunities with access to professional analytics to enable players to take their game to the next level.

Carl McMullen was assigned to the Football Matcher project due to his previous experience as an engineer. The task was to develop a device that could be placed inside a player’s bib to track their football pitch movement. Highlighting players distance covered, sprints and heat map.

Fitting the device in the player’s bib required the device to be compact, secure, lightweight and thin enough to transmit the antenna’s signal to the central hub.

Carl was able to develop the concept using 3D modelling software and using vernier callipers to measure precise measurements. Utilising the circuit board’s mounting points to secure the board in location and battery pack within the device.

To read the rest of this blog, please visit this web page.

We would like to thank Football Matcher and Carl for sharing this blog and his experience as part of the Digital Skills Programme.

The Digital Skills programme aims to improve digital skills. It offers online workshops and the chance to set virtual work insight projects for our students. To find out more about the Digital Skills Programme, please visit our website.

You can find out more information about Sport Tech Hub here.