University of Warwick and Football Association of Wales Partner to Study Language and High-Performance Teams

Image credit: Football Association of Wales (FAW)

(IN BRIEF) The University of Warwick is collaborating with the Football Association of Wales to analyze communication between game analysts and team coaches to improve teamwork and gain insights into how professional sports teams can gain a competitive edge through language. Linguistics experts will study the language used by coaches, athletes, and managers during live sporting events, focusing on how interpersonal communication practices can support high-performance team goals. The research findings will be presented at the FAW’s National Coaches Conference in May.

(PRESS RELEASE) COVENTRY, 22-Mar-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — The University of Warwick, a public research university and one of the UK’s academic powerhouses, has partnered with the Football Association of Wales to analyze communication between game analysts and team coaches in professional sports teams. The linguistics experts will study the language used by coaches, athletes, and managers during live sporting events, with a focus on how interpersonal communication practices can support the high-performance goals of the team.

Dr Kieran File, Associate Professor from the Department of Applied Linguistics at the University of Warwick, will attend the Wales vs Latvia Euro 2024 qualifier in Cardiff on 28th March to collect audio data and evaluate the language used between team analysts and managers. The research aims to gain insights into how professional communication helps teams to build strategy throughout the game and achieve more effective teamwork through language.

Dr File explains: “It is fantastic to be taking our linguistic lens into another high-performance sports context and to be exploring such an important interaction: communication between analysts and football managers during matches.

“Analysts play an important role in helping football teams adapt to whatever the opposition throws at them. The ability for analysts and managers to effectively communicate with one another is going to be a crucial factor in ensuring game intelligence can be jointly built and acted upon during live match events.”

Esther Wills, Head of Performance Analysis and Football Insights at the Football Association of Wales said: “The modern game of football requires managers and coaches to be tactically adaptable. The analysts in the stand are the manager’s “eyes in the skies” as well as having access to real-time data insights regarding the game. Knowing what, when and how to communicate with the bench is vital for effective knowledge-transfer. The better we can be at this, the better equipped the manager will be to make in-game decisions which positively influence performance and game outcome.”

David Adams Chief Football Officer at the Football Association of Wales added: “As part of our High Performance Strategy we are continuously looking for innovations and actionable insights to improve performance. Esther reached out to Dr Kieran File and Warwick University having learnt of their previous work in this area with Williams F1. We are excited to work with Kieran and look forward to using learnings from this project across all our Cymru national squads to improve in-game communication.”

The findings from the study will be presented at the FAW’s National Coaches Conference in May. Dr File has previously conducted research with England Boxing and Williams Formula One on the importance of effective communication during matches and high-pressure events. This project highlights the growing interest in using linguistic research to gain a competitive edge in professional sports teams.

Media contact:

+44 (0)7392 125 605 for both 9 – 5 and out of hours enquiries.
press@warwick.ac.uk

SOURCE: University of Warwick

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