Bhaichung Bhutia Says It’s Time for Indian Football to Kick Things Up With AI [Video]

At Cypher 2024, former Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia advocated merging football and technology. “In Indian football, we are yet to use the technology [AI and analytics] that is used in a much bigger way in world football,” he said.

Bhutia Lauds Liverpool 

“I was just reading, not sure if it’s true, that Liverpool signed Mohamed Salah because of data,” recalled Bhutia, pondering over the existence of technology in football and how it’s now a necessity in Indian football. 

Ian Graham, former Liverpool head of research, noticed Salah’s performance at Roma, particularly his ability to create goal-scoring opportunities and his exceptional off-the-ball movement. He dived deep into his numbers, highlighting qualities that were overlooked by traditional scouting. 

Liverpool has been using data and ML models to increase the team’s efficiency. These models predict player performance, emphasising on recruiting young, undervalued talents like Mohamed Salah. The methods focused on future potential, using metrics such as ‘expected goals’ …