AFL stats supplier Champion Data win multi-million XFL contract in US
Richmond’s remarkable run to become premiers in 2017 has helped AFL stats supplier Champion Data to win a multimillion-dollar contract in the US for an American football spring season.
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The key ingredient to Richmond’s drought-breaking 2017 premiership has helped Champion Data infiltrate the US sports market.
American football coaches will use AFL-like pressure statistics for the first time next year after Champion beat a global field to the inaugural multimillion-dollar XFL contract.
Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment-owned XFL — which is not affiliated with the 100-year-old NFL — will deliver American football fans a spring season after the February 2 Super Bowl.
Eight XFL franchises will play a 10-week season and footy’s number cruncher will station a team at each venue to capture every moment, just like it does for all AFL games.
McMahon’s 2001 XFL venture, controlled by WWE and TV station NBC, failed after one season and was seen as a gimmick.
But the 2020 reinvention – which has been funded with half a billion dollars – will aim to satisfy hardcore NFL fans desperate for more action.
Champion Data has made no secret of its desire to take over the lucrative US sports market.
“We’ve been working for 20 years to get to this moment. It’s the biggest market in the world, it’s the biggest sport in America and it’s a new version of that,” director Chris Hume said.
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“We’re using this to establish a beachhead for Champion Data in America, and the XFL is fully supportive of that. We’ll now be looking at all American sports.”
Champion Data won the contract heavily through its unique ability to measure pressure, which was the hallmark of the Tigers’ flag.
“When Collingwood won the (2010) Grand Final they had this new style of play, which involved a lot of pressure on the ball carrier,” Hume said.
“Clubs said to us, ‘How do we measure this style of pressure?’ So we spent months with our best people working out seven pressure acts, which we measure live for every single possession.
“That’s being tackled, or no pressure, or corralling pressure, or chasing pressure … and the insights that produced for coaches was fantastic.
“Then we can roll that into the media and into the broadcast. That single case study was the most powerful story we told (the XFL).
“That’s (pressure stats) not in College Football or the NFL, so if it works in the XFL the plan is to roll it into other forms of football in the US and Canada.”
Champion’s final pitch to XFL powerbrokers came at California’s Long Beach venue, where they landed a 21st century technology contract with an old-school presentation in a locker room.
Five Champion Data staff will work out of the XFL and WWE offices in Stamford, Connecticut, next year.
While Champion has captured data for Asian golf tournaments and this year’s Netball World Cup in Liverpool, the XFL is its first real international foray.
Champion Data’s pitch to the English Premier League came third last year, although that instilled confidence it could attack the global market.
On Hume’s advice, Champion Data commercial boss Tony Woods, who played 173 games for Fitzroy, Collingwood and Hawthorn, met the XFL in February after a planned catch up with the ATP in New York.
“In the NFL the technology wasn’t so good historically, so you had people selling their own data to the betting companies because it was faster,” Hume said.
“The broadcasters collected their own data because the official data wasn’t quick enough or reliable enough.
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“We’ve brought a new paradigm to the sport. They’re putting themselves out there by appointing us.
“We’re not the safe or the conservative solution. But the more we spoke the more we resonated with what they’re looking for.”
WHAT IS THE XFL?
* New American football league starting on February 8.
* Eight teams split into east and west conferences.
* 10-week regular season.
* Championship game on April 26.
NEW RULES
* Halftime shortened to 10 minutes. Clock keeps ticking on incompletions and out of bounds players, outside of final two minutes
* More coach-to-player communication
* Tiered conversions (one point from two yards, two points from five yards, three points from 10 yards)
* Multiple forward passes allowed behind the line of scrimmage
* Hockey-style shootout in overtime (five attempts to score from five-yard line)
TEAMS (Quarterback)
WEST CONFERENCE
Dallas Renegades (Landry Jones)
Houston Roughnecks (Phillip Walker)
Los Angeles Wildcats (Luis Perez)
Seattle Dragons (Brandon Silvers)
EAST CONFERENCE
DC Defenders (Cardale Jones)
New York Guardians (Matt McGloin)
St. Louis BattleHawks (Jordan Ta’amu)
Tampa Bay Vipers (Aaron Murray)
THE QUOTE
“Fundamentally, this is about telling the XFL story through statistics and data. While Champion may be a new name to somewhere in North America, they’re incredibly well established in Australia. We’re proud to partner with them not only to be our storytelling partner, but also to help them launch their business in North America.” – XFL president Jeff Pollack
Originally published as AFL stats supplier Champion Data win multi-million XFL contract in US