Football Club Case Study

Development of a digital platform and automated sports statistics system for FC Neman

Project overview

The project involves the development of a comprehensive digital portal for the football club, featuring an integrated system for the automatic collection, processing and visualisation of sports statistics.

The main objective is to create a single digital tool that:

• automates the handling of match data
• eliminates manual data entry and errors
• ensures information is up to date in near real time
• provides fans and club staff with convenient access to statistics

The solution combines a web portal, an administrative system (SAP) and an automatic data parsing module.

Objective

To create a system that:

• automatically retrieves data from external sources
• standardises and synchronises it
• generates tournament and individual statistics
• provides convenient management via an admin panel
• scales to accommodate different teams and tournaments

Solution architecture

The system is built using a classic separation model:

Frontend (interface)

Responsible for the user experience:

• displaying statistics
• visualising matches and tournaments
• interactive elements

Backend (server-side logic)

Responsible for:

• data processing
• security
• business logic
• integrations

Technology stack:

Frontend:

• HTML / CSS / JavaScript
• Bootstrap (responsive design)

Backend:

• PHP (Symfony)
• MySQL

Infrastructure:

• Nginx
• Docker
• SSL

Key component — data automation system

Parser (Data Extraction Engine)

The central element of the system is the parsing module, which automatically retrieves data from official sources:

• abff.by
• championship.abff.by

Data extracted:

• team line-ups
• substitutions
• goals and assists
• cards
• league tables
• match reports

Implementation features:

• ‘stealth mode’ operation (protection against blocking)
• Interval-based data retrieval
• Resilience to changes in source structure

Data standardisation

Once received, the data undergoes mandatory processing:

1. Synchronisation with the player database

Each player is assigned a unique ID → duplicates and errors are eliminated

2. Normalisation of names

• legal names → user names
• standardised club format

3. Unification of formats

• dates → MySQL standard
• events → structured records

Working with the database

MySQL is used as a centralised storage system:

The following data is stored:

• players and staff
• matches
• events
• statistics
• tournament data

Features:

• Relationships between entities
• Multi-team support (players in multiple squads)
• Fast data retrieval for the UI

Tournament logic

The system automatically calculates:

Tournament table

Algorithm:

1. Points
2. Head-to-head results
3. Goal difference
4. Wins
5. Goals scored

‘Match Grid’ (match matrix)

Allows you to:

• analyse results between teams
• visualise the season

All calculations are performed automatically when data is updated.

CMS — Content Management System

The admin panel allows you to manage the system without the involvement of developers.

SAP Features:

• Data editing
• Management of line-ups and formations
• Launching live broadcasts
• Manual entry of matches
• Parsing control

Important feature:

A fault-tolerance mechanism has been implemented:

• ability to disable the parser
• switch to cached data
• protection against performance degradation

Frontend and user experience

Key features:

• league tables
• match centre
• player profiles
• news and media

UX and responsiveness:

The website is optimised for:

• smartphones (quick access to matches)
• tablets (media and content)
• PCs (in-depth analytics)

Interactive features:

• data refresh without reloading
• form validation
• lazy loading
• animations

Infrastructure

Nginx

• load handling
• stable performance on match days

Docker

• environment isolation
• rapid deployment

SSL

• protection of user data

Business value

For the club:

• reduced operating costs
• increased staff productivity
• improved data quality

For fans:

• up-to-date information
• user-friendly interface
• comprehensive statistics on all teams