Casillas and Xavi 'partner' with artificial intelligence for a revolutionary project

Xavi Hernández and Iker Casillas are pioneers in betting on the use in the world of football of the artificial intelligence in favor of increasing sports performance. A technology designed to revolutionize tactical analysis in soccer.

The two former internationals have opted for Kognia Sports Intelligence, the football tactical performance analysis technology startup. The company has developed an artificial intelligence software, unique in the market, which allows us to analyze the game from a tactical point of view in a fully automated way. No other previous method had managed to meet these parameters that avoid manual processing while gaining objectivity when analyzing the game. And all in real time so that the user can make immediate decisions in the middle of the game (with the advantage that this implies) beyond streamlining the analysis in the preparation of the matches, at halftime or at the end of them.

The product is capable of automatically producing videos of matches and training sessions. At the same time, makes a tactical analysis that automatically detects the situations that develop during the match by both teams, generating cuts of video-clips with the graphic representation of these tactics.

In addition, the technical staff have a manual tagging tool, which allows video-analyst users to generate cuts and additional video-clips of specific situations that complement the automatic analysis of the game.

All this is possible thanks to the installation of a revolutionary hardware and software that consists of a set of three cameras that are installed in the stadium and that allow to capture the images of the game, that are treated and converted into data for analysis through advanced computer vision techniques, and by Kognia's proprietary software algorithms, applying sophisticated machine learning methods. The service will be available in SaaS (software as a service) mode next July. MUchos clubs and federations at the international level are already in talks to close agreements that allow them to use their services for the 2021-22 season.

This is how Kognia's technology explains, Maurici A. López-Felip, CEO of the company: “It is an innovative method that comes to revolutionize the world of game analysis by bringing it closer to the technical staff in the most objective and efficient way possible.” For Xavi Hernández, founding investor of the company and one of the first users of the software, “Kognia provides me and my technical staff with essential information that helps me understand what is happening on the pitch and make the best decisions from the bench.“.

In addition to Xavi Hernández and Iker Casillas, the company has incorporated as strategic partners a select group of investors, all of them professionals with extensive experience in the football and technology industries, including Bolt Ventures, an investment firm with experience in the sports industry in Europe and the United States.