At just 23 years of age, DeAndre Yedlin has built quite the resume. The Seattle native was the first “homegrown” player to sign with Sounders FC; he made his first U.S. national team appearance in 2014; and a year later he signed with Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. Now you can add another line to those achievements: startup investor. Yedlin recently invested in Seattle-based sports tech startup Volt Athletics, a maker of an “intelligent” strength and conditioning platform. Yedlin, who now plays for Newcastle United, told GeekWire that he has a passion for both sports and technology. Volt caught… Read More
LaLiga wants to learn more about its fans and expand its footprint around the globe — and it’s getting help from Microsoft to make that happen. Spain’s premier soccer league is one year into its partnership with Microsoft, which is providing tools like Azure and Power BI to LaLiga that helps it connect with more than 1.7 billion fans on social media around the world. “Fan behavior is changing dramatically nowadays and we have to change with them,” LaLiga Director of Technology Services Silvestre Jos told GeekWire in a phone interview. Jos joined Microsoft executives at the company’s Digital Difference event last… Read More
For the Seattle Sounders, sports analytics remains an important part of winning matches and keeping players healthy. The defending MLS Cup champions will make their 2017 home debut today at 4 p.m. in Seattle as they take on the New York Red Bulls at CenturyLink Field. The team held its annual Media Day on Friday and GeekWire caught up with Sounders GM Garth Lagerwey to get his perspective on sports science. The Sounders have long been pioneers, at least among MLS teams, in using sports science to help make on-field improvements. The club, which won its first MLS Cup last year,… Read More
AUSTIN, TX. — Count Don Garber among the folks who are looking forward to video assistant referee technology being used during Major League Soccer matches. The MLS commissioner was in Austin, Texas on Saturday for a 1-on-1 fireside chat at SXSW, the annual conference that features a bevy of top sports leaders talking about how technology is changing their respective games. Garber, interviewed on stage by Sports Illustrated writer Grant Wahl, voiced his support for the video assistant referees (VAR), which were tested during the preseason and will be used during actual games after the MLS All Star Game this August. The… Read More
Mobile ticketing continues to be a big focus for the Seattle Sounders. The MLS club just revamped its iOS and Android app with a redesign and a host of updated features. Sounders COO Bart Wiley told GeekWire that one of the most important changes was giving season ticket holders an easier way to access tickets on their smartphone. Last season, the Sounders made a big shift toward mobile ticketing, asking season ticket holders to use their phone as a ticket, instead of plastic “MatchPass” cards used in the past. Seattle was the first MLS team to adopt full-on mobile ticketing for season ticket holders; this… Read More
