30 Days of magic in the detail at Euro 2024 and Copa América, powered by Opta data and Opta AI

BYD created a video activation ahead of the Euros starring Giovanni van Bronckhorst, using Opta Predictions to forecast the winners of the 2024 Euros and added a nostalgic touch by discussing van Bronckhorst’s iconic 2010 FIFA World Cup goal against Uruguay using Expected Goals (xG). This highlighted BYD’s capabilities in their own field and set the stage for how advanced metrics will add context and drive conversations at the upcoming Euros.

Betfair leveraged Opta’s widely-used, OptaAI-driven predictions to provide objective and contextual insights on various topics during the Euros, from squad selection to forecasting tournament outcomes. They employed a multi-channel strategy, using Opta Predictions across social platforms, editorial content, podcasts, and more.

L’Équipe used Opta’s historical data and visualisations to bring each of Michel Platini’s goals from the EURO 1984 campaign to life with beautiful visualisations of shot maps, expected goals data, match stats, and zones of attacking influence. They galvanised French fans ahead of the Euros with a stunning four-page magazine spread – a throwback to the story of a former legend.

Vodafone Germany saw record traffic for next-gen live Euros updates, via Opta Stream. Opta Stream combines live written commentary, fascinating insights, Vodafone-branded infographics like heatmaps, player stats tables and more into a super engaging, rich live game experience for fans – with no manual input required.

BBC used visualised Opta event data to help their in-studio team (Gary Lineker, Rio Ferdinand, Cesc Fabregas and Micah Richards) to analyse and dissect the average position differences between the 1st half England performance versus the 2nd. Using data in this way helped the BBC to clearly show one of the game’s key narratives.

CCTV are the official Euro 2024 broadcaster in China. They’re using our Opta Graphics content engine to create detailed player pass maps for their post-match, in-studio analysis in a few clicks. These graphics look great inside their virtual studio and provide great context and substance for their viewers and their Euro 2024 coverage.

Betano  offered innovative Opta Points markets and educate their betting customers across key betting opportunities at the both tournaments with our bespoke editorial service, in 16 languages. Over 1500 articles and videos power the blog section of the Betano sportsbook and cover topics aimed at helping bettors understand the teams, players, specific matches and much more.

Sofascore have leveraged Opta’s unique, detailed Euros historical data archives to bring previous performances to life. Sofascore turned this data into beautiful visualisations helping fans deeply understand a player’s performance in a tournament – using heatmaps and detailed event data to help users compare players of yesterday with the players of today.

uhlsport – a leading manufacturer of goalkeeping equipment–  leveraged Opta insights and facts to highlight the  performances of goalkeepers using their equipment at the Euros to serve as a powerful endorsements for their products. They used metrics like Expected Goals on Target, pass accuracy, saves and defence ratio to create graphics that celebrate goalkeepers’ performances. Opta data helps the brand uniquely promote their products and raise the profile of some exceptional on-field performances.

DataRef, a leading football website in Argentina, has enhanced the Copa América fan experience by integrating Opta data feeds and widgets. Serving as a central hub for fans, DataRef addresses pre-match, in-play, and post-match needs with real-time team and player stats, live passing maps, match previews, player comparisons, and news articles. Opta widgets simplify complex data through visually appealing and interactive content.

In an interview with the BBC, Scotland striker Che Adams revealed that his teammates playfully called him ‘McAdams,’ acknowledging Opta’s matchday fact that Scotland’s last six Euro goal scorers all had surnames starting with ‘Mc’. The BBC used this quirky fact in their interview with Adams, highlighting how Opta’s unique statistics can add a playful dimension to player conversations, creating light-hearted moments and sparking lively dressing room banter!

To stand apart from the crowd in the fight for attention in their own backyard, Kicker, one of Germany’s leading football websites and magazine, leveraged Opta data during Euro 2024. They used visual aids for detailed player analysis, provided comprehensive match highlights, spotlighting standout individual displays, and delivered team performance insights by analysing strengths and weaknesses.

Novibet created minute-long “head-to-head” preview videos for each game using Opta Points. They highlighted key players with the highest season totals for Opta Points from both teams to help bettors make informed decisions on new Opta Points-powered markets.

Squawka jumped on an eye-catching performance from Jamal Musiala in the opening Euro 2024 game by creating a stats-rich graphic for their social pages. Squawka have followed this up with many more player graphics after the opening games – providing partner Domino’s with great visibility and aligning them with information that provides vital context for fans of all nations.

Sky Sports used Opta’s out-of-possession data to offer contextual insights to viewers regarding England’s off-ball performances at the Euros. Leveraging advanced metrics such as PPDA, Sky effectively conveyed tactical nuances, compared current performances with historical data and opponent metrics, and visually depicted trends through graphics.

Our news team has been supporting digital publishers and broadcasters throughout Euro 2024 with comprehensive video coverage, capturing video at team base camps, stadiums, and host cities, reacting to the tournament’s key moments. Live video content, produced both on-site and in global hubs, has featured on outlets like Eurosport, beIN Sports, Sony, Kicker, Marca, AS, L’Equipe, Reuters, Sportworld, and more. Additionally, our Big Match Predictor video series has engaged audiences worldwide.

Our written editorial team have been curating data-led game previews, match reports, milestone features and hundreds of articles to enable some of the world’s biggest news sites to keep readers up to date and informed throughout the month-long event. Our content has featured on platforms like beIN Sports, Outlook, Fotmob, Sportmax, Stadium Astro and many more outlets.

As the official data partner for CONMEBOL, Opta Facts are used by the official CONMEBOL website and all Copa América broadcasters. These facts form the cornerstone of their post-match coverage. Curated for each game, they are delivered both pre- and post-match. They help inform fans about potential records and milestones that could be broken during the game and key context to match events after the final whistle. They are delivered immediately after full-time to ensure timely and engaging coverage.

The Uruguay national team’s official X account showcases the MVP after each Copa América game, using data selected by Opta’s LATAM editorial team and graphics developed by the LATAM Data Analyst team. This engaging and credible content educates fans, fosters post-match discussions on social platforms, strengthening the connection between fans and players for a more immersive and rewarding tournament experience.

AS in Mexico used an Opta Vision metric to highlight new records being set at the Copa América.
They spotlighted César Montes setting the record for the most line-breaking passes in a game at the tournament – this is particularly unique as it delves deeper into the granular analyses of a player’s performance, such as the penetrative quality of their passes. Meanwhile, ABC marked Lionel Messi becoming the player with the most Copa América match appearances using Opta Milestones.

90min Spain use OptaAI Predictions to create match preview articles, providing key context that supports their analysis for each game. This approach offers fans a comprehensive understanding of what to expect ahead of every match. Opta’s Predictions give 90min’s editorial coverage good story hooks in advance of every game, distinguishing them from competitors by offering nuanced predictions and detailed insights that capture viewers’ attention effectively.

The Financial Times used Opta’s advanced metrics and visualisations to analyse England’s performances at the Euros. By visualising metrics such as Expected Goals (xG), passes per sequence, and the speed and direction of passes, they presented a case to their readers that while England had the best defence in the tournament, their attack was relatively weak, and how their defence could lead them to win the Euros despite their offensive shortcomings.

The England Football team are using our popular content creation tool to create data-led graphics and post them in seconds during England’s Euros 2024 campaign, helping keep their fans updated in real time. These examples are from England’s 0-0 draw with Slovenia and the table graphic was repurposed by GiveMeSport on their blog covering the game.

Official broadcasters of Copa América in South America are leveraging data insights provided by our LATAM editorial team, along with data visualisations graphics, and pre-and post-match facts to support their in-studio pre-and post-game analysis. These include Canal 13 in Colombia, Blender in Argentina, along with other broadcasters in the region.

iQIYI, one of the largest sports streaming sites in China, used Opta Facts and Opta’s AI-powered tournament simulations to preview the quarter-finals of the Euros during their popular ‘4231 Club’ show—the most-watched Euros program in China. Opta’s bite-sized insights, xG maps, shot maps, and predictions provided crucial context and presented interesting information to their audience in a visual, easily understandable, and engaging manner.

Ahead of England’s semi-final against the Netherlands at the Euros, the BBC set the stage for what fans could expect if the game went to a penalty shoot-out by using Opta’s historical data. They brought raw numbers to life with shot and save maps, using Opta’s visualisations to conduct a deep dive into both teams’ penalty records in international tournaments and identify trends to see how they  could influence the outcome of their upcoming match.

Opta Facts helped razor brand Derby to effortlessly produce engaging, timely content focused on Euro 2024, aligning their brand authentically with the tournament. With 51 matches played, Derby had 51 opportunities to share captivating stories and insights about the participating players, managers, teams and games. Use of informative sports content like this helped Derby to build rich association with football fans, despite not being an official tournament sponsor. Digital publisher Socrates amplified the content for Derby to help them reach wider audiences.

We work closely with CONMEBOL to help them realise their fan engagement strategy during Copa América. Our experts, tools and Opta data were used extensively by CONMEBOL to power informative, rich content experiences on the federation’s digital channels. Our OptaAI Studio product made it simple for CONMEBOL’s content, marketing and fan engagement teams to celebrate the performances on the pitch and deeply engage fans internationally throughout the tournament.

OptaAI Studio and our Data Insights team helped Betfair smash their audience engagement targets for Euro 2024 by helping them effortlessly create compelling, data-driven content for bettors. Leveraging rich, unique insights from Opta Search, Opta Live, our Data Insights team, and creating engaging, data-rich visuals with Opta Graphics, Betfair generated more than half a million impressions and engagements on Betfair’s social pages. Our tools helped Betfair to stand-out during the tournament and help their customers to make confident betting decisions and stay updated before, during and after matches.

Win Sports in Colombia created a compelling, data-driven editorial to highlight James Rodriguez’s Man of the Match performance against Paraguay at the Copa America. The unique insights within the piece were created using our unique OptaAI Studio platform and support from our data team. Opta Search and Opta Live combined to uncover match stats that showcased Rodriguez’s standout performance. And our team produced a heatmap of Rodriguez’s performance combining it with his match statistics in a few clicks within Opta Graphics.