How AI measures space: from zone 14 to control maps
In football people talk a lot about the spaces between the lines, but they are hard to measure by eye. With tracking data, AI can do it: “pitch control” models estimate, for each point on the pitch, which team would reach the ball first if it went there.
The result is a map showing, at every moment, which areas each team controls. With it you can see, for example, how much space an attacking midfielder had when receiving between the lines, or whether a team left big gaps when pushing its defence up.
The models use each player's position, speed and direction. That is why they need good-quality data, and even so they are an estimate: they do not know whether a player was tired or about to change direction.
For a coach, it is a way to turn a tactical idea into something concrete that can be reviewed with the team. For a fan, a new way to understand what happens away from the ball.