A WINNING COMBINATION

PLEASE NOTE: The deadline for the current application window for FIFA Forward ends on 31st December. Act now and speak to a member of the team by submitting your details above.

In the lead up to the 2000 Sydney Olympics, there were two engineers designing microtechnology for cochlea ear implants and aviation when the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) approached them to solve a problem.

The AIS had been world-class for the preceding 15 years in quantifying athlete performance, but they hadn’t figured out a way to do it while an athlete was actually competing. Because capturing data on physical load and oxygen intake was interesting while the athlete was running on a treadmill attached to a machine, but it wasn’t a true indication of competition.

The two engineers applied their expertise in microtechnology to inventing GPS-based wearable technology for team sport athletes, bringing together sport and science in an authentic way to solve a pressing problem: soft tissue injuries can cost teams millions of dollars and they are generally preventable with the right data and performance management. The Australian Olympic team were equipped with the new technology and took home a record number of gold medals for the country.

A few years later, the technology was commercialised and Catapult was born. That was when the beautiful game got a little smarter.

FIFA Forward and Catapult: A winning combination

At Catapult, our mission is to offer the most comprehensive set of solutions for teams and athletes to improve performance

We work with over 3200 teams in 40 sports and 139 countries and we are consumed by the transcending power of football. It emanates in everything we do: we work with 1,300 football teams around the world, have 55 staff that have played or coached football, brought to market the first football-specific wearable product (PLAYR) for aspiring elite players, and our in-house data science team engineers proprietary football-specific performance metrics that enhance the knowledge of our users in real time.

As you know, FIFA Forward is a development program designed to provide financial, technical, and human support to enhance football participation. With more investment, impact, and oversight, FIFA aims to remove the barriers faced when taking part in the game we love.

We are driven by that same vision and opportunity to enhance the game for teams and associations around the world. We are obsessed with helping provide educational opportunities for technical staff and supporting the accelerated development of women’s, men’s, and youth football.

A leader on and off the pitch

In 2018, FIFA announced Catapult as the first company to have its technology approved for in-match use, according to the federation’s international match standard (IMS) for electron performance and tracking systems.

Since then, Catapult has continued to strengthen its products alongside teams like Chelsea FC, Leicester City FC, Real Madrid, FC Bayern Munich, French Football Federation, West Ham United FC, and Sweden FA.

Player monitoring technologies can help level the playing field from all corners of the world through helping athletes, teams, and organisations exceed their potential.

In the past, these performance solutions would only be available to elite teams. Although through numerous developments, performance solutions are now available at all levels. So whether you’re competing at the elite, semi-pro, or amateur levels, technology solutions are widely available allowing you to take that one step closer to your potential.

Invest smart, work smart, play smart

The FIFA Forward Development Program can be used to purchase technology that helps to improve and develop the performance of football participants at all levels.

Member associations can use their FIFA Forward 2.0 entitlement to purchase Catapult’s performance & health, coaching & tactics, and management solutions. Catapult is the only company in the world continuously delivering team and league innovations that enhance performance on the field, maintain the health and safety of athletes, and create new experiences for football fans.

The FIFA Forward Development Program is the benchmark for an association growing a sport from the bottom up, all over the world.

Football is the ultimate catalyst for bringing humanity together and imposing a blanket of community over the billions who escape through its poetry. Football transcends us and morphs us into our primal, gritty, insatiable ancestors. It tests us, with nothing more authentic than raw human competition in rhythm. Catapult believes in the transcending power of football and we exist to empower associations like yours to perform at your best.

FIFA distributed funds for member associations vanish this December. See what is possible with Catapult and arrange a demonstration with a member of the team by submitting your details above.