Stats Entertainment: The Legal and Regulatory Issues Arising from the Data Analytics Movement in Association Football

Abstract

Data analytics has become a critical part of professional football.  It brings with it a number of challenging legal questions, brought into sharper focus by the reported ‘Project Red Card’ legal action, in which the legality of the systematised use of player performance data has been called into question.  Focussing on the position in English law, this article first considers whether the data produced in football is capable of ownership, whether in its raw format or after manipulation.  Next, the position in respect of data protection law (including FIFA’s Data Protection Regulations) is considered.  Finally, some broader legal issues are considered, including competition law and the regulation of artificial intelligence.The conclusions of this article are that the intellectual property rights position is broadly positive for data analysts, with legal protections capable of application in many circumstances.  However, data protection law presents a more complicated problem, presenting a number of challenging compliance obligations for the analytics community, albeit with scope to exploit player performance data where those obligations are met.