Several weeks ago I reported that Opta Sports were soliciting jobs for analysts who would collect in-match data for MLS league matches.  (They're still looking, by the way.)  Today Opta gave more details about the extent of their partnership agreement with the league, and if the news is accurate then league fans will have access to a wider range of data than was previously available.  Opta says that the type of data they provide will be very similar to that provided on the official Bundesliga website which, even though I don't understand German, looks extremely impressive. 

Arranging the data in a form suitable for analysis will remain a challenge, and analysts will still have to develop software that extracts data from whatever sources Opta provide.  But it does appear that at last, fans and analysts will have access to detailed in-match data that will expedite greatly the progress of soccer analytics.  This is, to adjust the phrase, a big freaking deal.