Quality control and support
RunningBall places great emphasis on speed, reliability, direct automated transmission to customers and overall quality in all of its products and services. This enables swift yet comprehensive reviewing and monitoring to verify and countercheck all data as it is processed.
RunningBall relies on a vast network of dedicated employees, who work with state-of-the-art technology to guarantee that customers receive top quality, real-time information on any sporting event both quickly and securely.
RunningBall scouts collect game data using MDAs and specialized applications developed in house. A support team reviews this data as it is broadcast and IT experts guarantee its secure, prompt and stable transmission. In addition to this, RunningBall operates a Live Customer Support line on a round-the-clock basis to address all needs and solve any issues immediately.
Pre-Game
RunningBall allows its customers to plan for a whole range of games two weeks in advance and keeps them informed of any changes first-hand. Upon request, RunningBall also provides coverage of matches that are not listed in the package.
RunningBall provides its customers with all additional relevant data. Closer to the game, this also includes weather and pitch conditions and similar. Data is stored so that a customer may access it even after a game has finished.
In-game
RunningBall provides real-time coverage. Data is gathered, processed and transmitted to clients within one second while "live" television coverage is delayed by 5-12 seconds.
Goals, free kicks, yellow and red cards and many more elements are made available to customers as the match unfolds – around some 1,000 game events like these are recorded by RunningBall during each match!
RunningBall has developed additional special applications that allow customers to view current statistics for a given time frame (e.g. since the last goal), on the basis of which they can draw conclusions on the course the match may be taking. In addition, the Odds View enables customers to keep an eye on the market and adjust their quote accordingly.
RunningBall's Live Support Team is at hand for all enquiries should any ambiguities arise during a match.
Post-Game
In addition to the results service, RunningBall provides post-game reports which contain plenty of additional information on any of the matches covered.
These reports not only contain half-time results and final scores, but also all important events (goals, cards, penalties, corners), and the minute as well as timestamp at which they occurred, statistics, and comments on the game in question. In addition and upon request, our Customer Support team will provide in-depth match reports to clarify controversial situations.
Scouts, data and technology
RunningBall is present in more than 70 different countries and employs more than 1,100 scouts, whose task it is to gather all match-event data.
For this purpose, every single scout has a hand-held device (MDA), provided by the company and equipped with the RunningBall Mobile Client software exclusively developed by RunningBall's IT department. All scouts undergo a systematic training course on the use of the MDA, the software and the principles behind the zones as defined by RunningBall (cf. Zone divisions: safe zone, attack zone, danger zone).
Scout Managers (SM) supervise the scouts to ensure that the data supplied is of excellent quality and fully reliable. Data gathered is checked as to accuracy, speed, and completeness by the Operations Department located in Graz (Austria).
At each match, scouts register and process 1,000+ single events, which allow customers to draw informed conclusions on players' strength, scoring efficiency, team strategy and much more.
The following football data is recorded in real time by RunningBall and transmitted to its customers faster than any "live" television broadcasting:
Goals, red cards, yellow cards, penalties, corners, throw-ins, goal-kicks, free kicks, dangerous free kicks, fouls, offsides, shots at goal (on target), shots at goal (off target), post shots, attacks, dangerous attacks, pitch conditions, weather conditions, audience, safe (no dangerous situation), danger (dangerous situation), substitutions, extra time, player-related data (goal scorers, cards), pre-game messages (players entering the field, etc.)
Data is transmitted via GPRS and reaches RunningBall customers in two ways:
- Trader Client software
- XML Pushing Feed
Customers only have to install the Trader Client software or make the necessary configurations on their server to activate the XML Pushing Feed in order to receive data in real time.
Leagues
RunningBall works 24/7 across the globe to provide its customers with real-time data directly out of the stadium. Our scouts are present in more than 70 countries, from the world's most important football competitions down to amateur leagues.
RunningBall covers over 30,000 football matches a year and is steadily increasing the number of leagues and games. The company is always receptive to new ideas from its customers and also offers coverage of leagues on demand.
Statistics
RunningBall continuously updates stats about teams, leagues and countries:
- League tables
- Yellow/red card tables ("bad boys") according to each league's official disciplinary records
- Top scorer tables
- Head-to-head team stats
- Previous games, score and statistical information
- Stats based on time intervals and goals for teams
- General ball possession
- Ball possession according to zones (safe zone, attack zone, danger zone, cf. zone divisions)
- Net ball-in-play time
Zone division
RunningBall divides the field into three zones per team:
- Safe Zone
- Attack Zone
- Danger Zone

Indicating these zones may be irrelevant in certain cases. Counterattacks or impromptu defensive mistakes may shift the danger zone to the midfield line due to the quick movement of the ball. In other words, the position of the players is more of a determining factor than the definition of the zones in particular cases. For instance, a player who gets the ball around the midfield circle but has no other opponent to face but the goalkeeper is automatically considered in the Danger Zone by RunningBall.
In a match at normal speed and with attacks shaping up by a series of passes, RunningBall defines the zones based on the criteria below:
Safe Zone:
Own half of a team; in other cases: areas on the field that do not allow a team to launch a direct attack.
Attack Zone:
The rectangular area starting 1-2 metres away from the half-way line and the straight line level with the penalty area and extending imaginarily on either side of the box. This zone is used for the preparation of an attack before an attempt on the goal is made or before the attack moves into the Danger Zone.
Danger Zone:
The rectangular area starting from the straight line level with the penalty area and extending imaginarily on either side of the box up to the goal line, where direct attempts at the goal are being made.