Shorts: RFU, AFC Wimbledon, Man City
Kitman Labs has signed a multi-year renewal of its partnership with RFU.
Under the extension, the company’s data and analytics platform will continue to be utilised across the RFU’s men’s and women’s national teams, as well as Premiership Rugby, Premiership Women’s Rugby, and the RFU Championship.
The RFU has been using Kitman Labs’ performance optimisation solution within the Intelligence Platform (IP) since 2023.
Through this expanded partnership, Kitman Labs will now provide the performance medicine solution, which unifies all data, offering real-time insights to support injury surveillance, clinical governance, and optimal player management.
For the first time, the performance medicine solution within the IP has been rolled out to senior teams and academies across Premiership Rugby, Premiership Women’s Rugby, the women’s pathway (Player Development Groups), and men’s Championship clubs.
The system enables coaches, practitioners, and stakeholders to monitor load management, inform training plans, and enhance game preparation.
This implementation of the IP forms a core part of the Men’s Professional Game Partnership (MPGP) between the RFU, Premiership Rugby, and the Rugby Players Association.
Kitman Labs has worked with a variety of top teams, leagues and regulatory bodies across multiple sports, including the IRFU, NFL, NBA, NWSL, Premier League, MLS and NCAA.
Simon Kemp, Medical Services Director at RFU said, “The insights and analytics made possible by centralising player medical and performance data streams are essential in helping to advance the health, welfare and performance of our players.
“In addition, by making this system available across the men’s and women’s elite domestic game, we will be able to work collaboratively at a scale to better understand training loads, injury prevention and treatment effectiveness to ensure all players can perform at their best while helping to protect them from injury and illness.”
AFC Wimbledon have formed a new partnership with Data Talks, to drive fan engagement.
Within this partnership, Data Talks equip AFC Wimbledon with tools and insights to better understand their supporters, providing personalised experiences that resonate with the fanbase by offering tailored content, promotions, and interactions that truly reflect their needs and preferences.
To celebrate this collaboration, the club recently hosted a Revenue Conference at Cherry Red Records Stadium, showcasing the impact of working with Data Talks, the leading Customer Data Platform provider in the sports industry.
Stefan Lavén, Founder of Data Talks said, “[AFC Wimbledon’s] story of resilience and the unwavering support of their fans is truly inspiring.
“We are excited to help AFC Wimbledon enhance their relationship with their supporters, understand them better, and ultimately contribute to the club’s growth – both on and off the pitch.”
Manchester City have extended their management consulting services partnership with ABeam Consulting in Japan.
The firm initially became a partner of the club in 2021, with the mult-year extension ensuring the company remains an official partner within the region.
ABeam have offered a diverse range of consulting services to clients worldwide, including areas such as enhanced sports team management, marketing, sponsorship, and digital technology.
This extended partnership will enable ABeam Consulting and Manchester City to continue sharing knowledge, insights, and expertise across multiple areas, further developing solutions and services while also expanding the Club’s presence in Japan.
Tom Boyle, VP of Partnerships at City Football Group said, “With last year’s pre-season tour and the recent stop in Tokyo on the 4-in-a-row Trophy Tour, Manchester City’s brand presence in Japan has seen tremendous growth and the expansion of our partnership with Abeam Consulting is a fantastic opportunity to build on this momentum.”
Charlton Athletic have teamed up with Tee Screen, in deal that is intended to enhance matchday experience at The Valley.
The digital displays provider has installed their touchscreens throughout stadium, in a move that aims to boost fan engagement and create a more dynamic atmosphere for supporters.
The new screens will provide live content, social media feeds, and club updates, while also creating opportunities for sponsors to connect with fans through targeted content.
The NFL’s Los Angeles Rams have joined with UK-based Genius Sports to deliver augmented, data-driven in-game highlights to fans at SoFi Stadium.
During every Rams home game at the 70,240-seat venue, immersive highlights utilising the NFL’s Next Gen Stats (NGS) data will be showcased on the stadium’s Infinity Screen.
Powered by GeniusIQ, Genius Sports’ advanced data and artificial intelligence platform based in England, these highlights feature key insights, including player positions and speeds, throw times, and a detailed mini-map of the play.
GeniusIQ has leveraged machine learning and AI to convert vast amounts of NGS data into a meaningful understanding of football, delivering real-time insights and brand activations.
Steve Bornstein, President of Genius Sports, said, “Our partnership with the Los Angeles Rams breaks new ground in sports fan engagement, combining immersive highlights and rich tracking insights for brands like Verizon.”
The A-Leagues, Australia and New Zealand’s elite football divisions, have extended their media data partnership with Stats Perform.
The London-based company’s Opta data feeds, widgets, and tools will all continue to power the A-Leagues’ official fan platforms.
This extended partnership has introduced Opta Stream, which has enhanced fan engagement and sponsorship opportunities within the A-Leagues’ match centres.
The agreement covers the A-League men, which commenced on 18 October, as well as the women’s league which kicks off on 1st November.
Together with Opta Stream, Opta Search has leveraged Stats Perform’s data feeds to enhance storytelling, employing automation and AI to empower teams of all sizes to improve productivity while growing sports audiences and sponsorship opportunities.
“We’re pleased to meet A-Leagues’ requirements for detailed, trusted, reliable data and products to drive fan and sponsor growth across the Isuzu UTE A-League Men and Ninja A-League Women,” said Steve Xeller, Chief Revenue Officer at Stats Perform.
I’m particularly excited about their addition of Opta Stream and Opta Search – they’re among our newest AI-powered products and have already broken records for customers in Europe.”
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