Virtual starts to become a reality for top clubs

LONDON: Cutting edge virtual reality (VR) technology, allowing football clubs to return players to match situations and for the injured to get ‘match sharp’, is being tested and used by top English and European clubs.

The technology, developed by Manchester-based company Mi Hiepa, is currently being employed by four English Premier League clubs and teams in Italy and Germany are also trialling the platform.

For contractual and confidentiality reasons, the clubs cannot be identified but they include some of the biggest in the Premier League and Europe.

“We believe this is a revolutionary product that will help players come back from injury sooner, help players be more cognitively aware, help better decision-making on the field and prepare them for pressure situations during games,” said Andy Etches, sporting director of Mi Hiepa.

The system allows a club to input their existing match data to recreate game situations which a player can then ‘re-enter’ when he puts on the headset, with two small, light devices attached to his boots and shin pads.

The platform also features a series of drills which will allow players to practice their skills, such as passing, and develop their reactions and decision-making abilities.

That could be particularly valuable to players returning from injury lay-offs who would be able to sharpen themselves up to match speed without the risk of physical contact.

“It is reaction time that is lost typically and we ought to be able to limit that through daily interaction. We have been told that the loss of reaction time can be 60% during recovery and we believe that we eliminate that or drastically reduce that by putting players back into match situations,” said Etches. — Reuters