We introduce the Soccermetrics API — a sports modelling and analytics layer on top of in-match data sources at varying levels of complexity. The API delivers advanced match analysis of data in an accessible form and makes it easier for end-users to create their own customized analysis tools on football data.

This API — also known as the FMRD-Summary API — is the end product of our commitment to the Enriched Data Project in support of the MCFC Analytics initiative.  After voicing our complaints about the basic MCFC Analytics dataset, we proposed creating a supplemental data set that provided context to the data dump of the basic dataset.  We received at least 50 respondents to that call, and we set to work on following up on that offer.  It’s been a long road, but we’re finally here.  We’re not stopping here, however.

We have experience developing APIs for other data-driven applications that we’ve built, and we’ve applied those lessons to designing and implementing our best API yet.  It is a REST API with generous hyperlinking between resources, self-documentation of resources, and sorting functionality of responses.  Our backend for this API is a relational database formatted with our FMRD-Summary data schema that combines historical football match data with summary in-match statistics.

Currently the API is in a public beta stage.  We’ve extended a priority invitation to those who expressed interest in the Enriched Data Project.  If you are curious about the API and would like an authentication credential, you can send an email to [email protected].  In the meantime you can read the following:

• Official API documentation (Check out the Examples)
• API client documentation for Python (in preparation)
• Soccermetrics API Developer’s Portal

We’d like to thank Heroku, Rackspace, and 3scale Networks for providing us with the cloud infrastructure and authentication resources that support this API.  We also thank the members  of our Data Intelligence team — Khaldoon Abu-Hakmeh, Eric Sonnet, Paul Foster, Billy Marsden, and Tuuwala Lok — for helping compile, clean, and QA the historical match data of the 2011-12 English Premier League season.  Lastly we thank Opta Sports for granting permission to use their data in this fashion.

This API and the FMRD-Summary data schema are neither associated with nor endorsed by Opta Sports, Manchester City Football Club, or any other sports data company or football club.