‘Analysis of Spatially Referenced Headers in Grassroots Football: A Proof-of-Concept GIS Approach’

Sports Geography, and specifically spatially referenced locations of events during games and training are increasingly being used to support sports analytics. Here, we develop a proof-of-concept to identify heading locations in amateur football in Ireland, combining video analytics, geographic information systems and science (GIS), cartography, and sports-geography to support this pressing issue. This is to our knowledge the first time such research has been undertaken on Irish sport and subsequently in Irish geography. Video recordings from six amateur premier teams were used to gather and digitise location information on headers. These headers were classified into a typology and visualised to support spatial cognition. Ripley's K spatial point pattern analysis was then applied to statistically test whether header distributions exhibited clustering, dispersion, or randomness across multiple distance scales. In total, we identified 534 headers across five games, varying in location and typology. We found that defensive headers were the most common type, accounting for over half of all recorded headers. Goal kicks and throw-ins also contributed significantly to the total number of headers. Statistical analysis revealed that while overall headers approximated spatial randomness, specific tactical contexts produced distinct patterns: headers from opponent corners exhibited significant clustering in defensive zones, headers from own corners displayed strong dispersion reflecting clearance tactics, and throw-in headers demonstrated distance-specific clustering. We highlight the important positional aspect of the wings in heading, which is a novel result, while the condition of the pitch affected the styles of play of the teams involved, with wet conditions and poorly maintained playing surfaces leading to more headers. The need to deconstruct spatially referenced heading locations by typology, league, and level will be important considerations for policy makers, coaches, and players and may support decisions to reduce long-term brain injuries in players.