Access to AI tools and systems over the last few years has seen a phenomenal surge in use of artificial intelligence across many areas of our lives. And football is no different. So with 2025 just round the corner, let’s take a look at how AI is impacting the sport we know and love.
Football Betting
Before we look at the game itself, let’s look at betting.
With football betting trends showing no sign of decline in spend any time soon, this is big money for gambling operators.
AI is not only helping them analyse stats and set odds, but can also help punters themselves to quickly and easily use past data to make betting decisions.
AI in Football Coaching
At the very top of the game, AI is being used in coaching. Liverpool have been working with Google’s DeepMind to help making tactical decisions such as how to play certain corners. AI has analysed thousands of corners in the Premier League since 2020 and can advise coaching staff on how to play corners in certain situations against specific opposition. Liverpool’s coaching staff agreed with the recommendations of the AI in 90% of suggestions. Impressive.
AI in VAR
AI is used in VAR for creating 3D model reruns of things that happened on the pitch. This helps to speed up VAR decision making which keeps the game moving more smoothly while still maximising the accuracy of contentious in game decisions.
Player and Game Analysis
AI tech has revolutionised the way that player performance can be analysed. Easily and quickly, hundreds of pieces of data can be recorded in real time through a game with cameras, AI powered match balls and wearables.
Long gone are the days where a coaches’ opinion is the only thing to hand. Instantly now, data driven decisions and reviews of a player’s performance are available.
Training Programming
Based on medical history, any previous injuries and the previously mentioned game data, AI can now help to formulate bespoke training plans for each player individually, speeding up and putting a massive layer of data behind training.
Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation
The training programming ties into reducing the risk of injury through overtraining. And AI can analyse previous issues data and other data to identify areas of risk and help minimise the risk of injury.
AI can also help to plan rehabilitation of injured players.
More to Come
AI is really still just in its infancy. So 2025 and beyond will no doubt bring new use cases and advancements to how AI is used in football.
