Birmingham City F.C. Partners with Gradient Sports

Title: Birmingham City F.C. Partners with Gradient Sports

We’re proud to share that Birmingham City Football Club has named Gradient Sports its official data provider, partnering directly with the Club’s analytics arm, Real Analytics. This collaboration has been underway for several months and marks a significant milestone in Gradient’s mission to bring best-in-class broadcast tracking data, physical performance metrics, and the Epitome analytics platform to clubs seeking a competitive edge.

Why Birmingham City Chose Gradient Sports

In choosing a data partner, Birmingham City F.C. and Real Analytics weighed multiple providers against a demanding set of criteria: tracking accuracy, depth of physical metrics, platform flexibility, responsive support, and overall value. Gradient Sports rose to the top in every category. As Professor Ian McHale, Head of Research at Real Analytics, explains:

“We use Gradient Sports video tracking data as an integral part of our recruitment process. From checking player distances, speeds and accelerations in matches, to using the data as an input to complex models, Gradient Sports’ tracking data provides a whole new level of insight.”

Complementing that insight, Steven Spencer, Head of Recruitment Data at Birmingham City, highlights the central role of our physical metrics:

““The running numbers: sprint accelerations, high-speed runs, etc. are so important for recruitment. The quicker, faster, more resilient players consistently deliver better output in our simulations.”

Those “running numbers” directly inform the Blues’ talent ID process, ensuring new signings fit both the technical and physical demands of the squad.

Our Core Offerings

This partnership is built on three pillars of our offering:

1. Industry-Leading Enhanced Broadcast Tracking: Our computer-vision models deliver highly accurate, frame-by-frame coordinates for every player and the ball, captured from broadcast feeds and fully synchronized with event data. This precision enables coaches and analysts to reconstruct entire match sequences, tracking movement patterns, identifying pressing triggers, and measuring tactical shape with a granularity previously reserved for opt-in stadium systems.
   
   
   
2. Comprehensive Physical Metrics: Gradient’s physical data suite quantifies every metric that matters: top speed, total distance, high-intensity sprints, acceleration bursts, and more. With validated accuracy across 55+ of the world’s premier competitions, Real Analytics can benchmark Birmingham players against global standards, tailor training loads to individual needs, and monitor fatigue and recovery.
   
   
   “Using Gradient’s physical metrics we’ve been able to benchmark max accelerations and top speeds per position, per league, so we know how a Saturday-to-Saturday player will adapt to a Saturday-Wednesday-Saturday schedule, helping us plan for that transition rather than being caught off guard.”
   
   
   
3. The Epitome Analytics Platform: Epitome unifies physical data and player discovery in one intuitive hub. Its best-in-class interface lets Real Analytics build bespoke models that blend tactical video breakdowns with physical workload profiles, generating recruitment filters based on combined outputs, and automating recurring reports for coaches, scouts, and performance staff.
   
   

Translating Data into a Competitive Advantage

“Incorporating tracking data into our models has improved our ability to value the actions and contributions of players on the pitch,” says Professor McHale. Central to this is Gradient’s unique event id for every frame, an anchor that seamlessly merges positional feeds with on-ball events.

“The best thing about the data is that it’s unbiased. If someone doubts a player’s speed, we can point to 20 examples of them hitting our acceleration thresholds then go straight to the footage to show exactly when and where it happened,” adds Spencer.

By linking each sprint, pass, or defensive intervention back to a precise event timestamp, Birmingham City and Real Analytics can build robust, combined datasets that capture both what happened and how it unfolded.

This end-to-end integration, made possible by Gradient’s event-linked tracking, turns raw data into a strategic asset, enabling Birmingham City to make smarter, evidence-backed decisions across recruitment, coaching, and long-range planning.

A Partnership Built on Service, Coverage, and Collaboration

Beyond our technology, Birmingham City cited Gradient’s customer-centric approach and broad league coverage as decisive factors. As Professor Ian McHale notes:

“The team at Gradient Sports offers a great level of customer service and are quick to respond to queries. It feels like you are all part of one team. Combined with the cost and coverage of leagues, Gradient Sports offers an attractive proposition for clubs looking to use tracking data to gain deeper insights into players and teams.”

That seamless “one-team” experience means BCFC and Real Analytics receive rapid onboarding support, hands-on troubleshooting, and a clear product roadmap that aligns with the Club’s evolving objectives. Meanwhile, our extensive competition coverage, from the English Championship to top European and international tournaments, ensures that Birmingham City’s analysts can benchmark talent and performance across every relevant league.

Steven Spencer, Head of Recruitment Data, adds that Gradient’s collaborative ethos gave their team confidence that the partnership would be a good one:

“Gradient's flexibility and the willingness to collaborate with us and both push the boundaries and work to support football. I think that was what really hit the nail on the head for us, like this is the company that we want to partner with and want to work with.”

Together, these strengths create a true partnership, one where service excellence, comprehensive data, and shared ambition drive BCFC’s pursuit of performance and success.

How Other Clubs Can Benefit

While this announcement spotlights Birmingham City F.C., the same Gradient Sports framework is fully deployable for any professional club seeking to elevate its analytics game. Our broadcast-based model delivers:

• Accurate Data across a vast pool of players:Our unique combination of manual data collection and computer vision produces a rich and accurate data set from standard broadcast angles - enhancing your scouting workflow with otherwise unobtainable data on leagues from around the world.
  
  
• Unlock a whole new level of analysis: The combination of event data and tracking data in one place, unlocks a whole new level of analysis providing our customers with the most actionable insights and allowing them to understand the full context of every action on the pitch.
  
  
• Customizable Analytics Stack: Epitome’s modular design lets you prioritize the metrics and visualizations that matter most, whether that’s sprint counts for fitness coaches or enhanced tracking data for tactical analysts.
  
  
• Dedicated Support & Training: Our client success teams guide you through every step from onboarding, model configuration, and API integration, to ongoing enhancement based on your feedback.

Looking Ahead

With Gradient Sports powering Birmingham City’s analytics suite, Real Analytics is already scaling up its modeling capabilities and embedding data-driven practices into every facet of the Club. 

Moreover, as Gradient continues to expand its coverage, adding new leagues and competitions each quarter, we’ll keep enhancing the physical-metrics library and refining our computer-vision algorithms for even greater precision.

For any club ready to harness the power of enhanced broadcast tracking, detailed physical metrics, and an all-in-one analytics platform, this partnership with Birmingham City F.C. is your blueprint for success. Let Gradient be your official data partner and transform how you scout talent, prepare for matches, and monitor performance from preseason through finals day.

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Ready to Elevate Your Club’s Analytics?
Contact our sales team today at sales@gradientsports.com to schedule a personalized demo of our tracking data, physical metrics suite, and the Epitome analytics platform. Discover how Gradient Sports can deliver the same competitive advantage to your club that’s fueling Birmingham City F.C.’s pursuit of excellence.

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