Artificial intelligence (AI) is a technology that can enhance human capabilities and provide insights that may not be obvious to the human eye. AI has already been used in various fields, such as medicine, education, and business. But the next target for AI is the world of sports, including football. According to the most recent developments, AI will be able to assist managers by telling them substitutions during ongoing games.
AI has already influenced football in some ways as many top clubs use data analysis and machine learning to improve player performance, recruitment, and match strategy. Some clubs, such as Brighton and Brentford, have been successful in finding undervalued players in the market using AI. AI can also help football managers spot weak links in their teams by synchronizing high-intensity distance data with video footage of each game.
Football is a vigorous and elaborate sport that calls for players, managers, and coaches to make quick and wise decisions. When and who to substitute is one of the most crucial decisions in a football game. A game's outcome can be altered through substitutions by bringing in new players, strategies, or abilities. Making these choices, meanwhile, is difficult since there are so many variables to consider, including player tiredness, performance, the likelihood of injury, score, remaining time, and opponent tactics.
AI can be useful in this situation as it can evaluate vast volumes of data and offer insights that might not be visible to the naked eye. The new technology is also capable of learning from historical data and forecasting future results using patterns and trends. Thus, artificial intelligence can help football managers and coaches make substitutions that will tactically maximise game advantage.
The new technology is expected to take the place of managers, coaches, and game-tracking video analysts. The same task will be completed by AI in a matter of seconds, enabling the transfer of information mid-game.
Automated Video Assistant Coaches, according to Google's DeepMind researchers, might identify advantages, such as an opponent running 20 per cent slower than they did at the beginning of the game, which might indicate exhaustion and make attacks on that side more effective. A simulator was also employed in a Queen's University Belfast School of Psychology study to disprove the notion that goalkeepers require walls to stop free kicks.
AI is not yet prepared to entirely replace football managers and coaches, though. The game still has some elements that call for human emotion, imagination, and intuition. For instance, how to deal with pressure, how to adapt to shifting circumstances, and how to interact with the public and the media. The intricacies and complexities that make football such a complex and exciting sport may be difficult for AI to accurately represent.
Instead of replacing human managers and coaches, AI is intended to increase their intellect and offer them useful data and suggestions. AI is also a tool for simulation, analysis, and training. Therefore, AI can raise the standard and level of competition in football matches by assisting managers and coaches in making wiser substitute choices.