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Overall view of the challenges Chris Knell faces 

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Overall view of the challenges Chris Knell faces 

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These challenges tend to involve; collecting data from multiple sources, ensuring data accuracy and reliability, efficiently analysing huge amounts of information, and converting insights into practical strategies for the team to progress with.

Chris goes on to discuss, data security and privacy concerns, as well as the necessity of constant innovation and adaptability in the quickly developing field of sports analytics. In general, the Titans' quest to capitalise on data entails overcoming difficult obstacles to maximise their effectiveness and competitive advantage in the NRL.

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Ahead of CDAO Brisbane, Chris Knell, Gold Coast Titans' Head of Consumer and Club Data shares his thoughts on the current data and analytics challenges in the sporting world with Corinium's Vanessa Jalleh

Most industries and organisations face a myriad of challenges when it comes to delivering excellent results in data and analytics. For the sporting sector, capability is one of the hurdles data and analytics leaders are striving to overcome.

Chris Knell, who serves as Head of Consumer and Club Data for the Queensland based rugby league football club, Gold Coast Titans, says the scale of the individual clubs plays a role here.

"In the sphere of mainstream professional sports like the NRL and AFL, most clubs are small/medium size enterprises and so don't have the capacity to vertically integrate. This creates an environment where third parties must fulfil critical aspects of their operations, like ticketing and participation," he says.

"The downstream implications of this have traditionally been a very fragmented data environment, with many disparate sources that are difficult to align."

More Opportunities to Be Tapped

Knell says it is fair to say that the sports industry has been slow to react to the challenges presented, therefore missing out on the opportunities considering the proliferation of technology that has been presented to businesses, especially within administrations.

In fact, he notes that it has been the athletic parts of the business that have been better at parlaying data into performance.

"We've all seen how statistics driven sport is, but this extends far beyond the half time and full-time summaries we see. These days, players wear GPS monitors that capture hundreds of data points and coaches scrutinise games and develop game plans to the nth degree, and it's all based on data," he says.

"Up until recently it's been my observation that data was a bit of an afterthought. Businesses have failed to recognise the opportunity - and of late, the risks - that the data they have accumulated represents.

"This isn't a criticism; it's just been the way that the industry has evolved. When I started, there was never any consideration of the need for data professionals. The data function within our business fell to me because, in my capacity as the Head of Consumer, I was exposed to data more than anyone."

The other key challenge has been the need to pioneer data management in the context of the industry.

"I've lost count of the number of times a vendor has approached me about new technology that claims itself as the panacea to all our woes or the league has set about standardising data management. It's taken many false starts to understand what works and what doesn't. We've really been operating without a user manual or any real precedent, we've had to build it from the ground up," Knell says.

Knell says his answer above would not be complete without a reference to governance.

"Even though I consider our club to be one of the more progressive when it comes to data management, we've barely scratched the surface on the governance piece," he says.

"It's a major priority for us."

Centralising Data

The need to centralise data set in place a kaleidoscopic change for Knell and his team.

Though the gap between data literate and data illiterate organisations is still vast, Knell highlights that businesses who have made investments in this space (in systems, people, and cultural change) are beginning to show returns on this and it is not going unnoticed.

"In our business, this started with one simple concept - the need for us to centralise all our data," he says.

"As mentioned earlier, the fragmented data environment spawned from the traditional way of conducting business made it virtually impossible for us generate any commercial return or derive any meaningful insights to drive strategy.

"The process started in 2016 when we changed one of our operating systems. This was consolidated in 2019 with the introduction of our data warehouse, learning to write and interpret SQL, and produce dynamic BI reports. Marketing automation was also a major driver of the benefits we started to see from all the foundational work to 'get the plumbing right'."

Culture Shifts

Organisational culture is key to managing the challenges.

"It's something that we are doing well, but by no means is it something we would yet consider to be entrenched," Knell says.

"In my experience, outside of us having committed ourselves to centralising all our data, it's been the micro projects that we have been able to stand up and show wins from - either as a commercial return, unearthing a key insight or improving efficiency - that have piqued the interest of other areas of the business and been the catalyst for the start of their journey.

"We are very fortunate to have an incredibly supportive CEO, who believed in the vision we presented and helped us convince our board to make the initial investments we needed to get things moving."

Data Breaches

No conversation around data and analytics problem-solving is complete without mentioning the subject of data breaches.

"I can't go past the major data breaches we have seen recently," Knell says.

"We've been able to build a framework that is delivering value to our business yes, but in so doing we're creating an ever-increasing reliance on our data that demands proper governance.

"This extends beyond the security of our systems - a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Proper data management policies that help educate employees - especially those exposed to data but for whom data management is not a skill - need to be prioritised."

Chris Knell will be speaking at CDAO Brisbane on February 27th and 28th, 2024 at the Brisbane Hilton. Join him and many other data and analytics leaders to learn about the latest trends and opportunities in the industry. Register here to attend.

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Gold Coast Titans' Data Exec Tackles Sporting Insights Challenges

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Ahead of CDAO Brisbane, Chris Knell, Gold Coast Titans' Head of Consumer and Club Data shares his thoughts on the current data and analytics challenges in the sporting world with Corinium's Vanessa Jalleh

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Sports are undergoing cultural shifts that involve the inclusion of diverse attitudes, values, and practices within athletic communities. One crucial aspect is the push for diversity and inclusion, as seen in Lewis Hamilton's efforts to improve black representation in Formula One. Hamilton's initiatives reflect a broader trend of athletes advocating for social change in equity within sports, challenging longstanding norms and barriers. Hamilton’s determination to address systematic issues and create opportunities for unrepresented groups mirrors a broader social shift towards inclusivity within sports.

This drive for creating opportunities within sport can also be seen in the NRL incorporation of the NRLW. As a senior data manager at the Titans, ensuring inclusive data collection and diverse representation in analysis and decision-making is paramount to promoting cultural diversity.

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‘It’s been a lonely journey’: Lewis Hamilton opens up on F1’s diversity problem

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Hamilton is hoping to improve representation of Black people in Formula 1

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The Impact On-field success has on the overall business of a Sporting Club

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The Impact On-field success has on the overall business of a Sporting Club

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The success of sporting organisations greatly impacts their business operations by influencing their revenue streams, brand image, and fan engagement. While on-field success can translate to increased attendance, merchandise sales, and sponsored dealerships, well failure can lead to massive financial setbacks and declining support. As seen in 2017 when the Gold Coast Titans required financial support from the NRL. A senior data manager role is key in driving success by applying their analytical data to optimise play performance, recruiting and marketing strategies. By using data-driven insights sports organisations can improve both on-field success and their financial profitability.

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The main concern for cybersecurity in the sports industry, is the growing dependency on technology and data. While athletes can gain advantages from using devices such as Fitbits and accessing databases for injury prevention and sport development but there are security vulnerabilities to consider. These weaknesses can compromise the integrity of the sports industry as well as the privacy of athletes due to a lack of adequate safety regulations. The potential hazards that athletes could encounter include real-world breaches, such as the WADA doping scandal in Russia in 2014 and in 2021, the data from 61 million Apple watches and Fitbits being exposed highlighting the vulnerabilities in the security in wearable technology.

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The responsibilities that fall to the head of the club and consumer data vary depending on whereabouts in the year/season the Titans are. 

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The responsibilities that fall to the head of the club and consumer data vary depending on whereabouts in the year/season the Titans are. 

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There is a huge amount of work involved in getting a season up and running.

Now that we are underway, my focus shifts to producing daily reports on ticket sales trends, maintaining our membership reports, and ensuring we continue to drive membership sales through the season.  - Chris Knell (Head of club and consumer data at the Titans).

Now the season is up and running, A Club and consumer data manager would start casting their eye forward to the next season, looking at the long-term goals that have been set within the organisation, for example, the Titans have a goal to sell out the stadium with season ticket holders by 2030.

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The head of club and consumer data at the Gold Coast Titans, Chris Knell says; 

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The head of club and consumer data at the Gold Coast Titans, Chris Knell says; 

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The role of head of club and consumer data "has evolved from the operational aspects of our Ticketing and Membership to include a focus on administering the data inherent in this aspect of our business" - Chris Knell

Responsibilities would include managing an overall team of data analysers, producing daily reports, maintaining the membership reports, and ensuring they continue to drive membership sales through the season.

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The role of club and consumer data has changed as professional sports leagues and clubs evolve and learn and understand the importance of statistical analysis not just with the sport itself but also in running these leagues and clubs. The Head of club and consumer data is a vital member in making sure a sporting club's finances continue to grow to support on-field success.

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Football Radar have been successfully developing statistical models and analytical frameworks for football for over 10 years. We provide advice to football clubs, and we are also a leading provider of betting advice, where we have helped our clients achieve outstanding returns for over 10 years. We see ourselves as an interesting mix of start-up and established business, with the agility of the former and the security of the latter.

We are looking for an experienced data scientist, with a focus in machine learning and particularly deep learning, to help us uncover new football insights to push our models further and stay at the forefront of our industry. You will be working on a variety of projects, using a combination of tracking data, event data, and our proprietary data to help us learn and predict all kinds of different player and team outcomes. We're a fast and dynamic team, and you'll be contributing to innovative work that evolves week by week. We're looking for you to bring your passion for football analytics, and a desire to help lead projects and make a big impact. You will have the opportunity to take ownership of some of our bigger technical and modelling challenges and contribute new ideas for how we can analyse and interpret football. This job is ideal for someone already working in a technical role in sports analytics who would like a new challenge, or someone with experience from another industry, who is into the data-driven side of football, has developed real world data science experience, and would now like the opportunity to apply those skills in the football industry.

This role is based at our London office, at 1 Craven Hill, London, W2 3EN. You will have flexibility to work from home one day a week, and we aren't too fussy about the exact hours you work each day. But please note we are not considering remote candidates at the moment.

Qualified candidates will have:

Three or more years of professional data science experience

Experience with statistical analysis and predictive modelling

A real interest in football analytics. You know your xG from your xT and you've deliberated on the limitations of event data and what you'd do with tracking data

Experience with SQL and relational databases (you can quickly understand a new dataset, perform exploratory analysis, identify data quality issues, and take pragmatic decisions about how to handle imperfect data)

Experience building and maintaining production analytics and modelling pipelines, ideally using AWS or another cloud environment

Strong problem solving skills, with an ability to proactively identify challenges and propose solutions

Project management experience, and a pragmatic mindset - you can judge when it's right to to obsess about the details and when it's right to ship an MVP as fast as possible

A flair for telling data stories, visualising results, and experience at communicating technical complex topics to a less technical audience

Plenty of experience of writing reusable and efficient code (ideally in Python)

Half yearly bonus opportunities

33 days holiday (Including bank holidays)

Competitive contribution matched pensions

Subsidised private medical care and on site health checks and vaccinations

Subsidised office meals

Opportunities for learning and development budgets to invest in your personal growth

Company and team led engagement activities throughout the year

Subsidised gym membership

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Football Radar have been successfully developing statistical models and analytical frameworks for football for over 10 years. We provide advice to football clubs, and we are also a leading provider of betting advice, where we have helped our clients achieve outstanding returns for over 10 years. W

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In the world of professional sports, athletes face increasing vulnerability to data breaches, jeopardizing their reputations and career trajectories. Athletes are like celebrities, they have a huge social following and digital footprint, breaches of personal and financial information can lead to extortion identity theft and damaged their public image. This could risk athletes losing their sponsorships endorsements and overall support from fans, as seen in the 2015 Ashley Madison data breach. With many athletes’ personal information being leaked, it tarnished their personal and professional lives. With the ever growing cyber-attacks on athletes and sporting organisations, senior data manage is play and upmost role in the protection of their assets.

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In the high-stakes world of professional sports, an athlete's reputation and contract negotiations hinge not only on their performance on the field/court/track, but also on their personal and digital security. Data breaches can have far-reaching implications for athletes, affecting their public image, financial stability, and career prospects.

Athletes, much like celebrities, have a significant digital footprint. Social media accounts, financial transactions, personal communications, and even health data are all stored digitally. A breach of this sensitive information can lead to damaging revelations, extortion attempts, or identity theft. For instance, the 2015 Ashley Madison data breach affected several high-profile athletes, leading to public relations crises and personal turmoil.

The Cost of a Compromised Reputation

A data breach can tarnish an athlete's reputation overnight. In a world where endorsements and public image are closely tied to an athlete's market value, such incidents can lead to loss of sponsorships, endorsements, and fan support. For example, in 2017, a prominent NBA player faced backlash after his social media accounts were hacked, revealing controversial private messages. This incident led to a temporary suspension of endorsements, affecting his financial earnings.

Athletes' contract negotiations can be adversely affected by data breaches. Sensitive information regarding contract talks, health records, or past incidents can give teams or sponsors leverage during negotiations. A notable case occurred in 2016 when a football player's contract negotiations with a major club were jeopardized due to leaked personal emails, affecting the final contract value.

According to a report by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency ( ), the sports industry has seen a 45% increase in cyber attacks since 2019 . These attacks often target personal data of high-profile athletes. Another study by the World Economic Forum highlights that personal data breaches are among the top three risks in the sports industry.

Best Practices for Athlete Data Security

Robust Digital Hygiene: Athletes should practice strong password management, use two-factor authentication, and regularly update their digital devices.

Educate and Be Informed: Staying informed about potential cybersecurity threats and understanding how to recognize phishing or scam attempts is crucial.

Professional Cybersecurity Assistance: Seeking professional help from cybersecurity firms like BlackCloak can provide tailored digital protection services.

The impact of data breaches on athletes extends beyond just temporary inconveniences. It can lead to lasting damage to their reputation, financial security, and career opportunities. As the digital landscape evolves, so should the cybersecurity measures of athletes. We understand the unique challenges faced by sports professionals and offer comprehensive solutions to protect their digital lives, ensuring they can focus on what they do best - excel in their sport.

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Protecting the Play: The Impact of Data Breaches on Athlete Reputation and Contracts - BlackCloak | Protect Your Digital Life™

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Explore how BlackCloak shields athletes' reputations and contracts from the repercussions of data breaches in the digital arena.

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The Richmond Football Club in the AFL has had over 100,000 members for 6 years in a row.

Richmond CEO Brendon Gale says, “It is the consistent support from all of our fans that helps build, strengthen, and better the Richmond Football Club,”

The impact of this continued support cannot be understated as since 2017, Richmond has won 3 Premiership Flags, the most during those 6 years.

While having a large fan base is advantageous, it poses challenges for the MCG, which has a capacity of 100,024, leading to seating limitations and logistical issues.

The planned members at stadiums help reduce game day costs and assist staff in estimating the right amount of resources required, like food, beverages and security.

The senior data manager's role is to maximise the membership leverage created by analysing member data like ticket sales, crowd attendance and fan consumer surveys to ensure the club continues to grow in the right direction.

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The Tiger Army has reached an incredible 100,000 members for the sixth year in a row.

Richmond was the first Club to announce the incredible milestone of 100,000 members this season, a true testament to the commitment of the Tiger Army.

The support from the yellow & black faithful is prominent right across Australia, as well as internationally, and since first reaching 100K in 2018, each has displayed to the Club and the broader AFL how strong and committed the membership base is.

Richmond CEO Brendon Gale spoke glowingly of the milestone.

"It is the consistent support from all of our fans that helps build, strengthen, and better the Richmond Football Club," Gale said.

"Over the years, there have been highs and lows, but the Tiger Army continues to show up and support. This gives our players, coaches, and staff the best possible version of our Club.

"To reach 100,000 members for a sixth consecutive season is a significant achievement and something everyone involved with our Club can be proud of."

Richmond players and the broader Club would like to celebrate this achievement with you. Join us at our Round 20 home game this Sunday afternoon against Melbourne at the MCG, with 20% off level 1 tickets using this link.

Thanks to the official Membership Partner of the Richmond Football Club, crypto.com, all 2023 members are in the running to win one of six signed AFL or AFLW guernseys, plus all General Admission members can bring a mate for FREE for our Rd 20 match; it's time they also joined you in the Tiger Army!

Shop 100K! Head to Richmond Member Rewards and shop the exclusive 2023 100K range.

Want to join the Tiger Army? Browse our range of membership options.

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The Tiger Army has reached an incredible 100,000 members for the sixth year in a row.

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There is no shortage of challenges.  We are a relatively small team that takes on a lot, so managing the workload is always a challenge as everything is a high priority. For anyone working in 'club land' though, the biggest challenge is managing the impact that on-field performance has on the business.  Unfortunately, we can't control what happens on the field, but our results have a huge bearing on our outcomes so that's a real mental challenge.

Chris describes how managing workload, and the effect of on-field performance can impact the performance of the business. His team must handle numerous tasks and despite being a small market team every task must remain of the utmost importance, however with limited resources the prioritisation of tasks can become challenging and leave things incomplete. Additionally, they must overcome the mental difficulty of dealing with the unpredictability of sporting results, which can significantly influence the success and reputation of the organisation. The management of a sports club is a complex task that requires balancing operational efficiency and strategic adaptation.