Digital Dreams of World Cup Glory

Whether it was the birth of extensive media coverage of our favourite games, the growth of wearable exercise technology, or the ongoing debate around VAR and digital decision making, it’s fair to say technology is playing an increasingly significant role in global sport. 

It can work as a huge differentiator, both as a consumer or a player. Your experience of, and performance in, a particular sport can be hugely affected by the technology (or lack of it) you are using. Just as access to facilities and equipment plays a big role, so too does availability and usage of the right technology. 

When comparing established sporting nations against developing ones, this is crucial in obtaining competitive advantage. South African football is currently undergoing a digitisation of its own, hoping to harness the power of technology to find and develop the next generation of talent around the country. 

How can South African football better use technology to find and nurture their top grassroots talent? Boys in Khayelitsha play on makeshift pitches in the heart of the township.

In a nation historically famed for its rugby and cricket, football is by far the most popular sport nationwide. It’s estimated there are 10x as many football fans as rugby supporters, and football is present within communities of all colours and classes around the country, unique in its wide reach. 

Despite this clear footballing foundation, South Africa is by no means a world superpower in the sport, or even an African superpower at that. Bafana Bafana, the SA national team, have only competed in 3 World Cups (their most recent appearance on account of them hosting the 2010 tournament), and have only won the African Cup of Nations once (as post-Apartheid ban underdogs in 1996). With talent in abundance, why is South Africa not delivering on its footballing potential? 

When Jason Anderson arrived in South Africa in 2010 for the World Cup, his fourth tournament working with FIFA’s technology teams, he began to ask himself this very same question. 

‘There was a euphoria around SA during the tournament’, he recalled, ‘it was infectious’. 

‘Everybody watches football here, and during that month, it’s all anyone was talking about’ 

‘Whenever I got into a taxi in 2010, the challenge was to ascertain whether the driver knew more than me about football. I’d worked at several World Cups at that point, and despite not being a lifelong fan, thought I could hold my own’ 

‘Within a few minutes, I was always out of my depth’

The longer Jason spent in South Africa, the more he became fascinated by the gulf between people’s love of the game, and the reputation of the national team. 

‘When I started to learn more about the passion for the game here, it became clear there was so much talent, but maybe not the system or the pathway to allow real development’ 

‘It got me thinking that surely South Africa should be a bigger force in world football. With the talent and the fundamental love for the game already here, why can’t South Africa win a World Cup one day?’ 

Enthusiastic to put his theory to the test, Jason began working more closely with the South African Football Association to understand how best technology could help to develop the game here. With a sprawling and ever growing football population, and battling the political, social and cultural challenges inherent to post-Apartheid South Africa, organising the nation’s players and tournaments is no mean feat. 

Despite these challenges, both SAFA and Jason were in agreement that talent identification and player registration were key to future success. Inspiration came from Europe, and specifically Germany, when planning how best to harness the footballing talent around South Africa. 

‘If you look at what Germany did in the aftermath of their perceived failure at the 2000 Euros, it became a template and process that so many nations aspired to’, he explained. 

‘They were one of the first nations to really build a talent scouting database and system using technology. If you look at the dominance they achieved for the next 10 years, it’s no surprise people are using them as a case study’ 

SAFA were similarly impressed, and initially licensed a German system, and thereafter a FIFA-built tool, but neither quite suited their specific needs. With most of SA football still organised manually, by a whole community of volunteers and coaches around the nation not necessarily ‘on the grid’, dragging and dropping a solution from elsewhere was never likely to bring success.

The all-conquering German team of the 00’s and 10’s, which inspired football association’s around the world to study and imitate their tech-driven youth development model.

Since first getting involved with SAFA, Jason has embedded himself within their digital and footballing future. Keen to find ways to identify and nurture the best talent, whilst avoiding the age-cheating and corruption that has hampered domestic football here, the MySAFA platform was born. 

A tool designed for player registration and competition management, the platform has been launched across the country, with up to 1000 new players being registered every day. Although built for the association at a national level, it is affecting change at the grassroots and personal level for coaches and players around the country. 

‘SA football relies on the unsung heroes and volunteers who are giving their time to set up teams, coach young players and manage the day to day of grassroots football’ 

‘The platform and the move towards digital is designed to benefit them, to empower the people that give their time and effort’ 

‘By helping them to do it better and more easily, we’re providing the support they deserve, and we should then see bigger picture improvements in the years to come’ 

A huge portion of SA football happens at the grassroots level, in communities with little resource. The digital work of Jason and team is designed to help support and nurture their development.

Discussing this bigger picture, Jason sees the digitisation of SA football as a ticket to the country achieving the place they deserve in the world rankings. 

By being able to identify and promote young players from all corners of South African society, the platform will create opportunities for the best of the nation’s rich footballing talent pool to thrive and develop, ultimately aiding the national team. 

‘The sooner we can start gathering real qualitative analytics, the sooner we’re gonna win a World Cup’

‘If you look at the size of the population, and the love of football, it’s only a matter of time before SA is competing on bigger stages’ 

Citing Leicester City’s famous underdog 2016 EPL win as sporting inspiration, as well as Greece’s Euro 2000 victory and Iceland’s recent footballing rise, Jason was keen to stress the importance of smaller teams believing they can compete, and not falling behind. 

‘If Iceland, with a population of 300,000, can do what they did in the Euro’s and by qualifying for the World Cup, surely South Africa can too’ 

‘There’s a growing gap between the ‘have’ and ‘have nots’ in football’, he continued, ‘and it’s important for nations like South Africa not to get left behind’ 

Iceland’s Euro 2016 success (after the famous victory over England) provided further inspiration for the SAFA team (photo: The Telegraph)

‘I see everything in technology terms, and probabilities. So for me, it’s a no brainer, we can make it happen’ 

‘But I also understand there must be other factors. As an example, only about 30% of what we do at MySAFA is software related’, he admitted. 

‘So much of it comes down to the day to day, the communication, the cultural understanding, ensuring that it works in the real scenarios in which SA football is operating’ 

‘But, I mean really… how did Iceland do that?!’, he asked humorously, admitting that perhaps technology is only one of many factors that can contribute towards a nation’s footballing success. 

‘The technology is just the basis, the springboard’, he continued. 

‘Now we have players and teams registered on the platform, the real work begins’. 

Setting out ambitions for a German-inspired talent identification system, rating players on key criteria nationwide, and funneling the best into high performance centres around the country, it was clear to see Jason’s long term commitment to the legacy of the project. 

‘I’m proud of how far we’ve come’, he shared. 

‘People are laughing at us a lot less now, which has got to be a sign of progress’ 

‘Just to still be here 5 years on, in a world of football that always changes, is proof we’re onto something’ 

‘I’m passionate about continuing to evolve and sort out SA football’, he concluded, ‘and to watch as more and more Football Associations around the world go through this same process’. 

‘If we can keep bridging the gap between the established and developing nations, with tech as a key part of that, who knows what world football might look like in the generations to come?’ 

An example of the new ID cards, helping to register more players and stamp out corruption, made possible by the MySAFA roll out.