The League of Ireland has announced a major multi-year partnership with Dublin-headquartered Kitman Labs that will introduce a single performance intelligence platform across all 22 League of Ireland Academies.
The agreement will see Kitman Labs’ iP: Intelligence Platform deployed throughout the Academy system, creating a centralised data and operational infrastructure that covers player development, coaching, performance, medical, welfare, and administration.
It represents one of the most significant technology investments yet made in the League of Ireland Academy pathway and implements several recommendations from the recent independent review of the system.
The project forms part of the League of Ireland Academy Investment Programme, supported through funding from the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport and Sport Ireland.
That investment has already supported the appointment of Academy Directors and Heads of Academy Coaching at clubs around the country.
One System Across 22 Academies
Under the new structure, the League of Ireland will set common standards centrally while individual clubs retain control over their day-to-day Academy operations.
For the first time, the League will have a longitudinal data record capable of tracking players throughout their Academy development and, potentially, into senior professional football.
The system will also digitise the League’s Academy grading framework and associated improvement plans, replacing much of the existing spreadsheet-based reporting with live records and dashboards.
A central football philosophy, coaching curriculum, standards and drill library will be hosted on the platform, with clubs able to track implementation across different age groups.
Every Academy will also receive access to operational tools covering scheduling, communications, attendance, forms and documentation.
Players, parents and coaches will have dedicated app access for schedules, communication and development information.
“Today represents a genuine step-change in how we develop young players across the League of Ireland,” said Will Clarke, Head of League of Ireland Academies.
“Our ambition is to give every player within our Academy system the best possible opportunity to fulfil their potential.”
“For the first time, we will have a single, connected platform across our Academies that allows us to follow a player’s development over time, better understand their individual needs and give our Clubs and coaches the information they need to support that development.”
Clarke said the ultimate measure of the investment would be the quality of players developed.
“If we develop better players, we strengthen our Clubs. If we strengthen our Clubs, we strengthen the League of Ireland. And, over time, a stronger League of Ireland Academy system will provide more and better players for our international teams.”
The independent review of the Academy system highlighted digitalisation, improved use of player data, and greater consistency between clubs as areas requiring attention.
This partnership gives the League a means of putting those recommendations into practice while also providing greater measurement around the impact of Government and Sport Ireland investment.
Clarke thanked Minister Patrick O’Donovan, Minister Charlie McConalogue and Sport Ireland for supporting the funding that enabled the deployment.
The agreement represents a notable home-market win for Kitman Labs, a company whose technology is already embedded in some of the largest international sporting ecosystems.
The Dublin-founded business provides the platform supporting the Premier League’s Elite Player Performance Plan across 92 academies, Major League Soccer and MLS NEXT across more than 1,000 clubs, and the NFL’s league-wide health and safety programme across all 32 franchises.
It has also recently expanded its work with the United Soccer League and secured partnerships with the Norwegian Football Federation and the United Premier Soccer League.
“The League of Ireland has set out a clear ambition: to raise the standard of Irish football, to evidence outcomes to government, and to deliver lasting value from the public investment behind the game,” said Stephen Smith, Founder and CEO of Kitman Labs.
“By establishing a single intelligence platform across the Academy system and the league, the League of Ireland is doing what the most progressive leagues in the world are now doing.”
Implementation will begin immediately, with a phased rollout across the League of Ireland Academy system.
Former Shelbourne and Waterford FC Head Coach Ian Morris has been working as Partnerships Director with Kitman Labs since 2022.
Sport for Business Perspective
This is an important piece of infrastructure within the wider effort to raise standards across the League of Ireland.
Investment in coaches, Academy Directors and facilities is essential, but having 22 Academies operating within a common data environment should make it easier to measure whether that investment is actually producing better outcomes.
There is also a strong Irish business dimension. Kitman Labs has grown from Dublin into a technology provider for the Premier League, NFL, MLS and other major sporting organisations. Bringing that experience back into the domestic game provides the League of Ireland with access to systems already being used at a significantly larger scale.
Young players will no longer simply exist as individual records within individual clubs. Their development can be viewed across a pathway, giving coaches and administrators a clearer picture of where players are progressing, where additional support may be required and whether the Academy system as a whole is delivering.
That can only be good for the future of the game at every level.
Here is an interview on the Sport for Business Podcast with Stephen Smith, Founder of Kitman Labs, from last year.
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Image Credit: Kitman Labs
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