From 2018 to 2020, Gengee embarked on a landmark partnership with the Chinese Football Association (CFA) to fundamentally transform talent development within the National Youth Super League (NYSL)—China’s premier youth football platform. By deploying the advanced INSAIT KS football tracking system, this collaboration brought elite-level, data-driven analytics to over 351 youth teams from renowned academies like Guangzhou Evergrande, Shanghai SIPG, and Beijing Guoan. This enabled the objective analysis of over 3,000 matches annually, creating an unprecedented framework for identifying and nurturing the nation's future football stars.
The Challenge: A Critical Hurdle for Talent Identification
As one of Asia's largest and most prestigious youth leagues, the NYSL faced a complex challenge in objectively evaluating thousands of players across multiple age groups (U13–U19). Traditional scouting methods, while valuable, struggled to:
- Track long-term player progress consistently and comprehensively over multiple seasons.
- Quantify tactical decision-making and the physical readiness of players with reliable metrics.
- Provide unbiased and actionable insights for coaches and scouts, often relying on subjective observations alone.
The NYSL needed a scalable, robust, and unbiased system to identify top prospects and future-proof its talent development framework.
The Solution: INSAIT KS, a Complete Player Tracking System
GENGEE’s INSAIT KS player tracking system delivered a comprehensive, data-driven solution that transformed how player performance was monitored and analyzed. The system provided:
1. Real-Time Performance & Tactical Insights
- Smart Football Tracking: The system captured a wealth of physical metrics, including sprint distance, top speed, and acceleration, alongside critical event data such as passing accuracy and ball possession statistics.
- Positional Tracking: Coaches gained access to live heat maps and formation visualizations, which provided a real-time, objective view of player positioning and movement patterns for immediate tactical adjustments during matches.
2. Holistic Player Analysis & Well-being
- Internal & External Load Monitoring: The system went beyond basic stats to track physical loads, providing coaches and medical staff with critical data to manage fatigue, balance training intensity with recovery, and proactively prevent injuries.
- Player Connections: By analyzing player-to-player interactions, the system provided unique insights into teamwork dynamics, on-field chemistry, and effective collaboration.
3. A Centralized Talent Database
- Longitudinal Performance Trends: For the first time, the CFA had a unified system to map player growth across multiple seasons, identifying clear development trajectories.
- Objective Analytical Reports: The platform automatically generated detailed, objective reports that highlighted standout players in key areas such as speed, stamina, and technical ability, making scouting decisions more precise.
Results: A Legacy of Data-Driven Excellence
The successful integration of the INSAIT KS football tracking system enabled the Chinese Football Association and the National Youth Super League to fundamentally elevate their talent development framework. By providing objective, real-time insights into player performance and physical readiness, the system empowered:
- Enhanced Talent Identification: Coaches and scouts leveraged unbiased metrics to recognize standout players who demonstrated not only technical proficiency but also tactical awareness and physical resilience—qualities often missed by traditional methods.
- Proactive Injury Prevention: Real-time load management insights helped technical staff and medical teams balance training intensity with recovery. This proactive approach significantly reduced the risks of overexertion and injury, particularly during congested match schedules.
- Personalized Player Development: Objective data allowed coaches to move beyond generalized programs. They could now tailor training, focusing on each player’s individual strengths and pinpointing specific areas for improvement with unprecedented accuracy.
A Lasting Legacy: A New Standard for Youth Football
Throughout the transformative 3-season partnership, Gengee's INSAIT KS football tracking system enabled the CFA to:
- Build a comprehensive, nationwide player database with long-term tracking data across all U13-U19 age groups.
- Provide objective performance insights to support talent identification and development decisions, removing bias from the process.
- Enable sophisticated longitudinal analysis of player progression and team dynamics throughout the entire NYSL season.
The system's detailed metrics and analytics provided coaches, scouts, and technical staff with quantitative benchmarks for evaluating player potential, tools to monitor individual development, and data-supported perspectives on team tactical patterns. This infrastructure created a more systematic, fair, and effective approach to nurturing China's next generation of football talent.
Ready to Empower Your Academy?
The transformative power of data-driven insights isn't limited to national leagues. Explore the INSAIT KS football tracking system—the same trusted technology that revolutionized youth development in China's National Youth Super League. Learn more about how this system can empower your academy or team.