FCFL and Wilsons official game ball concept design.
The Fan Controlled Football League is partnering with Wilson Sporting Goods to bring a connected ball to its 2019 season.
Wilson’s patented connected football system will enable the FCFL to provide real-time metrics on player performance. Fans can expect insights around timing, such as snap to release, snap to target, and release time, throw quality, such as spin rate and spiral efficiency, and arm strength, such as throw count and velocity.
The insights are meant to help FCFL fans in the upcoming season, kicking off in June, as they scout out teams and vote live on the types of plays they want teams to execute on the field. Data from the connected footballs will be available to FCFL fan scouts during spring tryout combines and pre-draft training camp in Las Vegas. It will additionally be available to fans watching live or on Twitch throughout the season.
“Historically, we have relied on our eyes to tell us about a player’s arm strength, timing and throw quality,” said Kevin Murphy, Wilson’s general manager of team sports, in a statement. “Now we can quantify that to not only help players and coaches, but give the fans information on the sport they love that they’ve never had access to before and make the game even more enjoyable.”
The FCFL aims to be a fan-driven league that puts major decisions, from front office personnel changes to live plays on the field, in supporters’ hands. Tied to that, the first fan votes of this season will allow fans to decide between which of three Wilson designs will be used for the game ball.
“This is the first of many decisions fans will be making for the league and the eight inaugural teams. It’s about to get real,” said FCFL CEO Sohrob Farudi.
The FCFL is already a tech-focused sports league, structured in a fast-paced environment with a one-hour running lock and seven-on-seven games. Contests are held in a high-tech production studio equipped with drones, sensors and wearables that provide real-time data to fans in person or over the Twitch stream. Using Twitch extensions, the FCFL has also developed an interactive overlay that enables fans to easily assess data, and to make real-time decisions without having to exit the Twitch player.
