Success for the first year for the CIES Observatory

Raffaele Poli, head of the CIES Observatory

Less than a year after its launch, the CIES Observatory is already running at full speed. Prestigious institutions such as FIFA and the IOC have used its services. Other organisations having sought the expertise of researchers from the Observatory include UEFA, and both the international federations of taekwondo and basketball.

Collaboration with FIBA has resulted in the publication of a first annual report on the international migration of basketball players. This 64-page document can be downloaded from the CIES website. The study has already inspired the international federation of ice hockey, with which a new collaboration is currently under development.

June has been particularly heavy for the Observatory team. During the European football Championships, they have provided statistics to such recognised partners as daily French newspaper Le Monde and the website of Radio Television Suisse. They also conducted the analysis for the next issue of the seventh edition of the Annual Review of clubs and players of the five major European football leagues.

The Annual Review is a 96-page publication that helps to understand the logic of success through a "demo technical" approach resulting from an innovative combination of studies on both the demographics of the players and their performance on the field. The official launch will take place Monday, August 20. An excerpt from the latest edition can be downloaded for free from the publications section of the CIES Football Observatory website.

At the beginning of September, researchers from the Observatory will also restart the weekly publication of the Big 5 weekly post. Here they present their novel statistics on the best European leagues. To receive news of the CIES Football Observatory by email, it is possible to register via the homepage of the website.

Whether in football or other sports, all lights are green for the CIES Observatory. With the quality of our work, we hope to have in the future even more opportunities to work with sports governing bodies, thus contributing to good governance.