Jesse Davis, a professor of computer science at KU Leuven, heads the university’s Sports Analytics Lab, a research group that applies advanced data analytics to the study of soccer. His work transforms raw match events — passes, shots, throw‑ins, and defensive actions — into quantifiable metrics that reveal hidden patterns in play.
Turning data into tactics
The lab recently compiled a training set of over 1.4 million passes and 60,000 throw‑ins to examine a specific tactical curiosity: kicking the ball out of bounds near the opponent’s goal. Their analysis showed that this maneuver can place a team within roughly ten actions of scoring, a finding that has been adopted by professional clubs seeking marginal gains.
Open‑source tools reshape the industry
Beyond proprietary models, Davis makes most of his research freely available through open‑source platforms. Tools such as VAEP and xG models have become staples for analysts, allowing coaches and journalists to evaluate player contribution and shot quality without costly licensing fees.
From Wisconsin to worldwide
Davis’s fascination with soccer began in Wisconsin, where he grew up watching the 2002 World Cup. After shifting from an initial focus on AI and health‑care research — where his team measured heart‑rate to detect overtraining — he met Jan Van Haaren, an engineering student interested in artificial intelligence. Together they realized that machine‑learning techniques were perfectly suited to the speed and complexity of soccer, prompting Davis to establish the Sports Analytics Lab in 2014.
Standardizing the game
Today the lab is tackling the broader challenge of data standardization, aiming to create a common format for in‑game statistics that can be parsed automatically from video footage. This effort promises to accelerate the development of new strategies, such as evaluating the advantage of taking longer shots or optimizing roster composition through predictive modeling.
The impact of Davis’s work extends far beyond academia. Clubs across Europe, as well as national soccer organizations in the United States and Belgium, have integrated the lab’s insights into their decision‑making processes. Jan Van Haaren, now director of football intelligence at Club Brugge KV, continues to adapt these analytical frameworks for professional competition, while Davis remains driven by the simple goal of solving real‑world problems and watching his research shape the future of the sport.