Ex-Shrewsbury Town man Dave Edwards involved in review of football data misuse
Former Shrewsbury star Dave Edwards is spearheading a push for change in the misuse in data in football.
A campaign led by former Cardiff and Grimsby boss Russell Slade is threatening compensation via legal action following the trading of performance data figures over the last six years.
Edwards, 35, who left Town in the summer and is now at Bala, is one of 850 players who are calling for an annual fee for future use. Seventeen firms have been contacted over data misuse as football calls for change in its sharing.
“The more I’ve looked into it and you see how our data is used, the amount of channels its passed through, all the different organisations which use it, I feel as a player we should have a say on who is allowed to use it,” former Wales international Edwards said.
“Anyone else in the world would have that say. Just because we’re footballers and we’re in the public domain that gets overlooked.
“If you were in another job, if you were a teacher of a lawyer and this sort of details was being passed around your field of work it wouldn’t sit right with that person.
“I don’t think we, as individuals really differ from that.”
Data can include performance figures as well as players’ physical traits, location data or physiological information.
Slade’s Global Sports Data and Technology Group has highlighted more than 150 targets it believes has misused data in football.
