Following months of planning, the Liga MX/Ascenso MX and the Mexican Football Association took the strategic decision to launch a new technological innovation centre.
The 2018/2019 season in Mexico will reach new heights with the newest technology at its disposal. All the teams of the Liga MX/Ascenso MX and the Liga MX Femenil, as well as the national teams and the referees committee, will be provided with a new set of tools for the analysis of training sessions and matches.
An international watershed: the creation and launch of the activities of the Technological Innovation Centre were announced in June. The clubs of the main Mexican football divisions will have access to a large set of tools during the first season for the analysis in real time and post-analysis of the training sessions and matches. All the data will then be stored and made available to the teams for analysis. The Liga MX/Ascenso MX made use of some existing services and looked for leading international partners in sports technology to cover all the aspects required for the project. It ensured that that all the clubs, in all categories, have access to:
video clips from cameras set up in the stadium and on the main training pitch; shots of different sections of the pitch or panoramic shots;
tracking data, statistics on possession, a heat map, the physical performance of each player in real time;
individual GPS tracking using high-technology bibs, making it possible to study any situation regarding the competition and the players;
scouting players – using these tools, players from any category can be monitored, their performance observed, their statistics revised and their physical performance consulted.
The establishment of the Technological Innovation Centre was a joint effort and its objective is to carry out a thorough performance assessment. The entire technical staff team of each club has access to this data, anywhere and from any device connected to the internet; even in real time from the bench during matches, so as to take instant decisions during the match. This type of data did not exist or was not spread out among various systems and platforms and could not be properly combined into one system. The Liga MX/Ascenso MX initiative means that clubs can now all have access to the same tools and all that is needed is a centralised data collection process, rather than the club having to set up its own system. Furthermore, the data regarding elite competitions also provides information on the national teams. Consequently, the data and recordings of all the national players will be accessible to coaches of men’s, women’s and youth teams, making it easier to access information and statistics on potential teams in a much more structured manner. The same platform is available to the referees committee, making it possible to measure the performances of officials at any time. Lastly, another element that will boost the innovation of Mexican football is the fact that it is possible to standardise methodologies of the national training system, consisting of five study programmes. These are: Escuela Nacional de Directores Técnicos (ENDIT – national school for technical directors), Escuela Nacional de Preparadores Físicos (ENPREFI – national school for physical trainers), Escuela Nacional de Árbitros (ENA – national school for referees), Academia de Fútbol FEMEXFUT (FEMEXFUT football academy) and the Programa de Educación Continua (continuous training programme). They promote the continuous improvement of study programmes and evolve to create top professionals, such as technical directors and physical trainers.
"The Technological Innovation Centre is a joint effort, we are on the leading edge of world technology with the idea to promote Mexican football through the proper use of information during training sessions and matches. Knowing the player’s performance inside out will make it possible for technical staff to work more efficiently and in more detail, in addition to being able to track the different categories, national teams and referees. In the same way, the Liga MX/Ascenso MX and the FMF are working with the national training system to create the best professional football players in our country. This means that those who will benefit the most from the knowledge and products that result from the Technological Innovation Centre are the fans."
Enrique Bonilla Executive President of the Liga MX/Ascenso MX