This post was originally posted on Medium in 2017
In 2013, I was offered the chance to go the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference as a student. I ended up missing the conference but live streaming all the talks I was most interested in. It was my first experience with the formal field of sports analytics, and I think it was at that moment I knew that I wanted to contribute to the field.
4 years, 2 jobs, and countless hours later I’ve finally decided to dedicate my time to building a company that changes the way business is done in the sports space.
So we are very proud to announce after 18 months of working informally as hobbyists, we’ve finally launched ArqamFC.
ArqamFC is a data analytics firm focused on bringing the first layer of intelligence to football in emerging markets. We collect, analyze and present data to fans, clubs, players and agencies.
The central thesis is simple. Football is one of the biggest yet most inefficient markets in the world. From the way we talk about it as fans, to the way decisions are made, football is still in the stone ages when it comes to analysis. We are still stuck in this paradigm where most analysis is done through watching, and video cameras are the biggest tech revolution the sport has seen.
The problem with using our eyes to tell us what happened is twofold:
- It doesn’t scale
- It’s full of all sorts of cognitive biases
We’ve been around for 18 months now, worked with coaches, created content, and generally done whatever we thought would be the best use of our time. We have been held back due to a lack of data however, which is why in January we decided to launch our own data collection center. As a result, we’re finally at the point where we can do whatever we want.
So what do we want to build?
Well, first and foremost we’re a content company. And whether our content drives more fan arguments, or results in a team making a $10mn decision, it’s still at the core of what we do.
Now in order to become the best version of ourselves, there’s going to be a lot of technology that needs to be built:
- Data collection technology
- Data analysis tools
- Data visualization tools
- Distribution/user experience tools
With these tools and content, we hope to empower all the relevant stakeholders.
Fans who want to make more intelligent arguments
Coaches who want to prepare better for big games
Agents who want to discover young new talent
Players who want to improve their game
Mostly though, I’m excited to build products and find new and different ways to monetize them. And I truly believe what we’re doing can be transformational for specifically the lower/middle echelons of football, where mistakes can’t be wiped away with huge bankrolls and competitive edges are smaller.
So please check out the website, give us comments. We’re hiring a lead engineer, so recommend all the rockstar techies you know. I appreciate all the support in advance 🙂
One last paragraph for quick acknowledgements.
My partners, Hesham and Ossama have been invaluable as always in getting us to this point.
The team over at BECO Capital, who have given me an invaluable working experience over my last year.
The good people of Footy Analytics twitter, who provided the platform for me to learn about this cool space. (Specific shout out to Ravi Ramineni and Micheal Caley, who answered the DMs of a 19-year old kid in college trying to learn with much patience).
And my family, blood and chosen, who have helped make my decision to become self/unemployed manageable!
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