Shared data for football

01

Challenge

A football match involves the work of many organisations: clubs, schools, regional federations and the union itself. Different participants need information about players, personnel, facilities and match applications, while those records must remain consistent. The engineering task was to create a shared information environment and support its everyday use at remote workplaces.

02

Our contribution

NPF I.V.A. is the sole creator and developer of the RFU information system. The company designed its architecture, developed the software and provided system support. In 2003, the system core and its first deployed application, the Player Passport, were created. During 2004–2005, modules for facilities, club licensing, personnel and applications were developed. Document and message exchange, reporting and client software updates complemented the shared environment.

03

Player history

The unified player number, ENI, anchored the records. It was assigned once and never reused. A player’s record included registration documents, contracts, status changes and movement between clubs, including transfers and loans. The system provided checks on simultaneous registration at multiple clubs and a procedure for raising claims between participants. This allowed a person’s history to be maintained as club affiliation changed and discrepancies to be addressed.

04

Access and responsibility

Access rights reflected the hierarchy of football organisations. Users could view their own records and authorised information from subordinate organisations, while ordinary editing was restricted to their own area of responsibility. Connection used an individual external device, an electronic key; protection of the exchange included encryption of transmitted information. User identification and permissions formed part of the shared working model.

05

Solution

Specialised client modules ran within a common shell, while a web portal provided access to part of the information. Match Application connected registration campaigns with clubs and players; licensing connected RFU requirements, club documents and decisions on their compliance. Reports used templates with selection parameters, and a service module synchronised client files with the server. Documentation, teaching materials and seminars complemented user support.

06

Outcome

The system entered continuous operation in 2006. In 2011, a specialised module for registration staff enabled corrections to player details, documents, contracts and registration and transfer histories, as well as record deletion and merging. This standalone C++ application accessed the system database through ODBC. Work in that period also covered electronic-key integration and analysis of personal-data protection requirements. Further RFU software-module development followed in 2013.

07

Further development

In 2014, I.V.A. prepared a modernisation proposal covering a full web interface, expanded modules, mobile access and improved data-quality controls. It proposed retaining the accumulated database and operating existing and new tools in parallel to avoid interrupting users’ work. The proposal set a direction for the next stage of the system’s development.

08

Historical assessment

A strength of the solution in its historical setting was the connection between stable player identification, change history and organisational responsibility for data. A shared database connected clubs and federations while preserving their different permissions; application modules used that foundation for registrations, licensing and reports. The project’s engineering depth lay in making these mechanisms work together and supporting distributed operations over several years.

From company records

Materials

• I.V.A. anniversary book · early RFU work ↗
• Andrey Vlasov on the RFU system’s purpose · interview, 8 September 2012 ↗