On a drizzly April afternoon in 2025, over 200 young athletes gathered at the Guangzhou FA talent selection camp. While these U7-U10 players showcased their agility and tactical wit on the pitch, a quiet technological revolution was happening on the sidelines.
Guangzhou FA, a historic powerhouse in Chinese football, has officially integrated the INSAIT KS UWB Performance Tracking System into its youth development pipeline. By moving beyond traditional observational scouting, the federation is setting a new national benchmark for objective talent identification (Talent ID).
Precision in Action: An U10 prospect undergoes evaluation at the Guangzhou FA camp. The INSAIT KS system simultaneously tracks the athlete’s physical load and the connected ball’s technical metrics, providing an objective 360-degree performance profile.
The Scouting Evolution: From Subjective Eye to Quantifiable Precision
For decades, scouting relied on the "coach’s eye." While invaluable, human observation can be affected by cognitive biases, such as the relative age effect. Guangzhou FA recognized the need for a non-biased, data-driven layer to validate their technical decisions.
The solution lies in Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology. Unlike traditional GPS, the INSAIT KS provides sub-10cm positional accuracy. By equipping players with trackers and using a Connected Smart Football, coaches now capture a 360-degree view of an athlete’s potential.
Data at the Sideline: A Guangzhou FA coach reviews real-time analytics on his iPad. By integrating INSAIT KS technology, coaching staff can now validate their tactical observations with centimeter-level positional data, eliminating scouting bias.
Transforming Raw Data into Elite Performance
The implementation of this UWB-powered system focuses on three critical pillars:
- Physical Metrics: Real-time tracking of sprint velocity, dynamic acceleration, and high-speed running distance to identify the most explosive prospects.
- Technical Metrics: The smart football, with UWB sensors similar to those used in the 2022 World Cup ball, allows for real-time capture of pass accuracy, ball manipulation, and player-to-ball connection—metrics that were once "invisible" to the naked eye..
- Tactical Adherence: Coaches can now visualize spatial awareness and tactical positioning, ensuring players fit the strategic philosophy of the academy.
Impact I: Personalized Development and Load Management
Beyond raw performance tracking, the system transforms data into actionable intelligence essential for long-term athlete development.
The INSAIT KS aggregates match statistics, training metrics, and even assessment scores to build comprehensive, 360-degree player profiles. These profiles monitor progress across physical strength, tactical intelligence, and technical mastery. Coaches now leverage these insights to:
- Personalize Training: Tailor training regimens to a player's specific physical or technical deficits, ensuring individualized growth.
- Proactive Load Management: Real-time workload monitoring is crucial for athlete welfare. By tracking metrics like physical load, sprint distances, and recovery rates, the technology empowers coaches to monitor fatigue thresholds and prevent overtraining injuries before they occur. This safeguards the continuity of young players’ growth and protects the academy’s investment in its talent pipeline.
Impact II: Building a Living Database for Strategic Foresight
Guangzhou FA has moved its strategy from reactive selection to proactive talent cultivation by building a dynamic, centralized database powered by the INSAIT KS.
By tracking individual progress across seasons and tournaments, this database enables the federation to:
- Identify Developmental Trends: Objectively pinpoint which training methods yield the best physical and technical results across cohorts.
- Forecast Player Potential: Benchmark athletes against established regional and national standards using hard data, providing clear trajectories for future placement.
- Streamline Decision-Making: The data-driven foresight positions Guangzhou FA as a pioneer in optimizing resource allocation and ensuring no promising player stagnates.
Strategic Visualisation: The INSAIT KS dashboard provides an instant breakdown of attacking patterns. By quantifying zone-specific data, Guangzhou FA coaches can objectively measure tactical adherence and adjust team strategies based on real-time spatial intelligence.
A National Blueprint for China’s Football
“The integration of this UWB system isn't just about technology—it’s about building a smarter, more equitable future for football,” says Weidan Chen, CEO of Gengee. “It exemplifies how scientifically-backed tools can elevate the entire talent identification and development ecosystem.”
This partnership, already inspiring similar data-driven initiatives across other provinces (Zhejiang, Fujian, Shandong, and Jiangsu), positions Guangzhou FA as a national benchmark. By fusing decades of tradition with data-driven innovation via the INSAIT KS system, they are not just identifying talent—they are nurturing it with unprecedented precision, ensuring the next generation of players is faster, smarter, and more resilient.
The Future is Now: Aspiring young talents compete using the INSAIT KS connected ball technology. Beyond the data, our mission is to empower the next generation of players with the world’s most precise tracking tools to ensure a smarter, more resilient football ecosystem.