Benfica at the FT Business of Football Summit

Sudarshan Gopaladesikan, Head of Sports Data Science at Sport Lisboa e Benfica, participated on March 2nd in the Financial Times Business of Football Summit.

Sudarshan joined Benfica in 2017 from Microsoft and has helped the Portuguese club’s sports department with academic research and practical analysis to provide innovation in the Data Science aspect of the Club.

"Our objective is to be one of the best world academies in developing players" said Sudarshan, stating that Benfica aims to develop young talented players to strive in Europe’s top leagues.

Benfica are famous for their academy and talent production, with the likes of João Félix, Rúben Dias, Bernardo Silva, Renato Sanches, João Cancelo and Ederson all coming from Benfica 's youth ranks.

"We focus on scouting, player development and player performance in order for our athletes to reach peak performance and to bring in talent that is aligned with the club’s strategy. We use data to evaluate the physical condition of our athletes. Also, we are able to provide the coaches of different sports with other data like the movement and spaces occupied around the pitch by certain players, which helps on the shaping and training of the defensive positioning, for example", revealed Sudarshan.

Adding to the success in men’s football, Benfica has recently found success in women’s football, with the senior team participating, for the first time, in the group stage of the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

"From our perspective, women’s football is an integral part of the project. The players in our women’s team are really engaged with data and eager to learn from it", said Sudarshan, stating that a lot still has to be learned on the data side to provide the correct evolution to the women’s teams at the Club.

The Business of Football Summit returns for its fourth edition to sports business issues. Leading investors, club and league executives, regulators, broadcasters, advisors and other key influencers will share their insights in discussion with journalists, both in-person and virtually before a global audience.