Football DataCo

What Football DataCo does

Football DataCo Limited is a UK private company founded in 2001 and wholly owned by the Premier League and the English Football League (EFL), with authorisation extended to the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL). The company acts as the central commercial vehicle that protects, packages, and licences official football match data on behalf of these leagues. Its primary product is the Official Data feed — granular, real-time, event- and performance-level data captured in-stadium during professional matches — which is monetised through exclusive distribution agreements with Opta Sports for media customers and Genius Sports for betting and gaming customers. Additional offerings include third-party tracking data supplied by SecondSpectrum (positions, distances, passes) and a player action image rights regime covering photographs taken by clubs' appointed photographers.

The technical backbone combines in-stadium data collection infrastructure, an i-PBS platform for managing the media accreditation scheme across the three leagues, and legal infrastructure grounded in the UK sui generis database right and copyright protections under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and the EU Database Directive. Football DataCo's database right was upheld by the UK High Court in 2012 and by the Court of Appeal in 2013, establishing the legal perimeter in which all licensing operates. Distribution is achieved through two exclusive partners: Opta Sports reaches 1,000+ media clients across 40+ countries, while Genius Sports serves 200+ betting operators in 150+ countries.

The business model is a royalty-driven intellectual property licensing structure. The company collects licence fees from operators that wish to use "official" data rather than scraped or secondary sources, where official status confers credibility and regulatory compliance, particularly in regulated betting markets. Operating headcount is intentionally lean at 1-10 employees, with partner-led customer acquisition, distribution, and product delivery handled externally. Revenue is not publicly disclosed but is supported by the global reach of the two exclusive distribution partners and the structural scarcity of first-party league data rights.

Name

Football DataCo

Legal name

Football DataCo Limited

Website

https://football-dataco.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Football DataCo Limited is the Premier League and EFL-owned joint venture that protects, packages, and licences official football match data for the Premier League, EFL, and SPFL through exclusive partners Opta Sports (media) and Genius Sports (betting), and manages league media accreditation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Data Rights Management

NAICS

Spectator Sports (7112), Spectator Sports (71121)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Data/Stats & Betting Rights Distribution (Official Data Feeds) (MPABAJAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sports Data Feeds & Integrity Monitoring (MPAEACAE), Sports Rights Agencies & Brokers (Acquisition/Packaging) (MPABAJAH)

Keywords

• Official football data licensing
• Sports data rights management
• Media accreditation services
• Betting data distribution
• Matchday performance data

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Official Data Licensing: Football DataCo collects, manages, licenses and distributes official event and performance data for Premier League, EFL and SPFL matches worldwide. The company generates revenue through licensing agreements with data partners and betting companies.
2. Betting Data Licensing: Betting and gaming companies require an intellectual property licence from Genius Sports (Football DataCo's exclusive partner for the betting market) to use Official Data. Usage applies to extraction from official data feeds or reutilisation from any source.
3. Intellectual Property Licensing: Football DataCo licenses the rights to official match data including event data, tracking data, and insight data to licensees for commercial, statistical and analysis purposes.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Football DataCo manages and commercialises the official match-related data rights of professional football leagues in England and Scotland (Premier League, EFL, and SPFL). It licenses event, performance, and tracking data to commercial partners such as Opta Sports (media) and Genius Sports (betting and gaming), operates a central media accreditation scheme via the i-PBS platform, and enforces database rights and image protection for the leagues.

Product overview

Football DataCo operates as a data rights management company offering a portfolio of interconnected products and services centred on official football match data. Its core offerings include Official Data Licensing (distributing official match data to media partners like Opta and betting partners like Genius Sports), the Media Accreditation Scheme (managing press access to Premier League, EFL, and cup matches via the i-PBS platform), Database Rights Protection (enforcing intellectual property rights under EU law), and Matchday Photography Protection (safeguarding player images for editorial use). The company functions as an intermediary between the leagues (Premier League, EFL, SPFL) and commercial data licensees, managing collection, licensing, and enforcement across the football data ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Official Data Licensing Licensing of official match-related event and performance data for Premier League, EFL, and SPFL matches to commercial partners for media and betting applications. Distributed via Opta Sports for media and Genius Sports for betting and gaming.
• Media Accreditation Scheme Central accreditation scheme that enables media organisations to attend and cover Premier League, EFL, EFL Cup, EFL Trophy, and FA Cup matches (up to Quarter-Finals). Matchday access is coordinated with home clubs via i-PBS subject to availability.
• i-PBS (internet Press Booking System) Online media accreditation tool that enables approved media representatives to apply for and manage access to English Premier League and EFL matches. Backend database systems are provisioned by appointed service providers such as OppSport Software Limited.
• Database Rights Protection and Licensing Legal protection and licensing of database rights under the EU Database Directive and Rights in Databases Regulations 1997 for live football match data. The sui generis database right was confirmed by the UK High Court in May 2012 and upheld by the Court of Appeal in February 2013.
• Matchday Photography Protection Protection of still player action images from the English Premier League and EFL against commercial exploitation, with permitted use limited to editorial match reporting content.

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Opta Sports (Stats Perform)coreTechnology or IntegrationOpta is Football DataCo's official data partner for media distribution. The partnership covers collection and distribution of Official Data from Premier League, EFL and SPFL matches. Opta data is used by over 1,000 clients in 40+ different countries. Data is collected, analysed, databased and supplied within seconds of the action happening on the pitch.
• Genius SportscoreTechnology or IntegrationGenius Sports is Football DataCo's exclusive partner to collect and distribute Official Data for the Betting and Gaming markets. They power data-driven products for over 200 betting operators worldwide and over 150 countries. Genius Sports is also the long-term integrity partner to English and Scottish football, helping to protect against threats of match-fixing and betting-related corruption.
• SecondSpectrum, Inc.supportingTechnology or IntegrationSecondSpectrum is appointed by Football DataCo as a third party service provider to create live on-field tracking and performance data (position, distance run, passes made) through attendance at football matches and/or through video footage.
• OppSport Software LimitedsupportingTechnology or IntegrationOppSport Software Limited is appointed as Football DataCo's third party database system supplier for certain processing activities related to the accreditation portal.
• Premier LeaguecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFootball DataCo is wholly owned by the Premier League and English Football League. The company is authorised by the Premier League to collect and distribute official match related data for the benefit of clubs and players.
• English Football League (EFL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFootball DataCo is wholly owned by the Premier League and English Football League. The company is authorised by the EFL to collect and distribute official match related data for the benefit of clubs and players.
• Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFootball DataCo is authorised by the Scottish Professional Football League to collect and distribute official match related data for the benefit of clubs and players in Scottish professional football.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Genius Sports: Football DataCo's exclusive betting data partner and a leading sports data and technology company serving sportsbooks, leagues, and broadcasters worldwide. Closely comparable as both a data distributor and integrity services provider for football.
• Sportradar: Global sports data and content company providing official data feeds, betting odds, and integrity services to sportsbooks, leagues, and media. The largest direct competitor to the Genius Sports / Stats Perform duopoly that Football DataCo depends on.
• LaLiga Tech: LaLiga's in-house technology and data commercialisation arm — analogous to Football DataCo for Spanish football. Demonstrates the alternative model where a league itself commercialises official data and technology assets.
• BetGenius (Genius Sports division): The betting-data services arm of Genius Sports, which already powers Football DataCo's betting channel. Closely comparable as an official data feed provider for in-play odds and betting products.
• Stats Perform (Opta Sports): Football DataCo's exclusive media distribution partner and the dominant global provider of official sports data, Opta feeds and analytics. Directly comparable as a sports data licensing and analytics business serving media and betting customers.

Emerging players

• Catapult Sports: Sports performance and tracking technology provider used by elite football clubs. Partially comparable as a provider of tracking/insight data into the same football ecosystem that Football DataCo serves.
• Hudl: Video analysis and sports data platform used by professional and grassroots football teams. Comparable as a data-driven football analytics provider, though more focused on team workflows than media/betting distribution.
• Kinexon: Real-time sports tracking and performance analytics provider with football league deployments. Comparable as a tracking data technology provider that football rights holders license for data generation.
• SecondSpectrum: Provider of live on-field tracking and performance data already appointed by Football DataCo. Comparable as a tracking-data specialist serving elite football and other major sports leagues.

Regional players

• Sportec Solutions: DFL subsidiary providing official Bundesliga match data, tracking, and broadcast graphics. The German analogue of Football DataCo's role for the Premier League/EFL, serving a different national football market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/football-dataco-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Football DataCo