Q) VEO is 10 years old this year, yet it feels like it has been around for a lot longer than that, what do you offer and who are your core group of customers?

Veo’s mission statement remains the same, to democratise sports technology for all.

Our innovative solutions provide opportunities for clubs of all levels to realise the benefi ts of video technology. From the lofty heights of Professional Academies, all the way through to the Grassroots arena of Sunday League, Veos technology today is synonymous with football in the UK, developing the game for players, coaches and spectators alike.

Q) Where did the whole idea for VEO come from and how was that startup process?

Our company founder Keld was caught delayed travelling and ended up late to a game in Denmark, missing a goal scored by his son. It was from that day that he realised the need and importance that all games, regardless of the level, were recorded to ensure that one day no one would miss important moments like this.

Founded in 2015, the company had humble beginnings, with our current CEO part of the building team to first make our early models from a kitchen table in Copenhagen. Today we operate in over 90 countries worldwide, with offices in Copenhagen, Tokyo, London and Miami.

Q) How does the pricing model work for a VEO camera?

A Veo setup varies from club to club.

Broadly, it involves a one-off purchase of hardware, including a Veo Camera and Tripod, supported then by an annual on-going subscription. We offer our base packages (Team, Club and Enterprise), alongside optional additional features (Livestream, Analytics and Player Spotlight). Recently we have also launched our entry-level product, the Veo Go, which utilises technology you already own (Iphones) and our software (via an app) to produce Veo recordings. This package begins at the price point of £29 per month.

Our dedicated sales team are always on hand to answer any questions interested clubs have when looking to begin their journey with Veo. They are best placed to understand your team or club situation, advising the best package to suit your needs.

Q) After the game has finished – where does the recording go and how can the user access it?

As part of the Veo subscription, clubs and users have their own online clubhouse account where all videos are stored. Once a match is recorded on a camera, it is uploaded via internet connection and it is then moved to this clubhouse space, allowing coaches or any registered users to view footage and analyse games utilising our editor features.

Coaches, players and parents are able to register to their team or club clubhouse via invite. We offer varying levels of responsibilities and entitlements, meaning coaches can take control of recordings, with others afforded the opportunity to view footage but maybe not at the level of editing rights that coaches have. Our solution also offers functionality that enables coaches to provide feedback at anytime through tagging of involved players. We recognise that coaches only get limited time with players at trainings, pre-match or in the classroom, so to have this system that enables coaching throughout the week empowers them further.

Something lots of our users are not aware of is that players are also provided with their own Player Profile. This feature available in their account provides them with a fully customisable player page (including football career history, player bio and information) and enables them to create a portfolio of their footage and highlights, that can be shared directly with recruiters or clubs when they are looking for their next move.

Q) Depending on the level of the account they own will mean the user has access to a different amount of analytical tools at their disposal – can you break down what is available to all users and what some of the premium features are that can be accessed with additional fees paid?

The Veo Editor package is available to all users who have an active subscription. Features include AI clipping of important match moments (goals & shots on goal), draw on screen, interactive player, playback speed, speed-run and clipping functionality.

For users who are looking to really take their game to the next level with Veo, we also offer additional packages:

● Our Veo Live feature enables clubs to livestream their matches with their cameras, streaming games to social media, YouTube or our dedicated Veo Live platform (prices begin at £15 per month).

● Our Veo Analytics feature grants access to a range of AI powered analysis features including a 2D map, a momentum graph, a heatmap, advanced match stats, a shot map, a pass string graph, a pass location map and a scoreboard that shows each team’s score and the time. You also get access to Analytics Studio where you can track your team’s progress over time (prices begin at £25 per month)

● Our Veo Player Spotlight feature uses shirt number detection to detect and track each player on the pitch. It’s the perfect tool to watch, review and give feedback on individual performances saving coaches or analysts time to manually clip or code footage. Player Moments, which delivers an individual highlight reel for each player automatically, is changing the game for clubs throughout the UK (prices begin at £32 per month)

Q) Some users even now might not be aware that ‘Interactive Player’ is a tool which they can use to really dig into how certain events in the game transpired – teams of all levels can find this feature useful as it allows them to quite clearly see where they have gone wrong (such as playing too high or too low) – what other ways would you say this tool could be utilised more?

Explained in the below video

Sometimes there is too greater emphasis on fixating on ‘on the ball’ action. Football is a game that relies on shape, movement and enormous amounts of efforts from the wider team away from the point of contact. Through flipping in and out of interactive mode, and utilising the zoom function, users are able to analyse this wider context of performance, gaining a deeper understanding of the full picture of a match.

The clearest example of this is through viewing how deep or high your defensive line is, or your goalkeepers starting position, when your
team are in possession deep into the oppositions half. Other examples might be the ability to view players body language around the pitch in response to conceding or an attacking players desire to run into the box running from a deeper position than the ball-follow view affords.

Q) Another feature available to users is VEO Live – can you explain how this process works and how people can customise the game for their fans to enjoy (overlay/logo/sponsors)

With Veo Live, you can live-stream your games directly to our Veo Live App or to a platform of your choice such as Facebook or Youtube. On all live streams, there is a scoreboard showing the score and time that can be controlled by an admin on your team, and you have the possibility of activating Overlays to promote partners, sponsors or events in the club.

Overlays are easily created and uploaded to your streams via the Veo Live tab in your clubhouse, displayed on all future streams when activated by the press of a button. These have been highly successful in attracting specifi c sponsorship for covering the cost of the Veo, or simply displaying a range of club sponsors logos.

Now during my chat with George there was a few particular features which really stood out for me, one of them was part of the analysts package which breaks down some of the match stats for you as well as giving you a live player map in the top tight hand of the playback. Think FIFA!

It is incredible how it works and here is when me and George spoke about it:

Q) The ‘Player Spotlight’ feature is an incredibly powerful tool, especially for a team who dont have the time to break down indidvual player specific highlights – can you walk us through what the key features are of this tool?

Player Spotlight is one of our additional packages, available to clubs who are looking to take their analysis to the next level. Our AI technology creates personalised highlights of each player, compiling the moments in which they interact with the play into bitesize highlights for them to view and analyse with one click. This feature is crucial for time-saving, allowing coaches to have access to individualised player footage and removing the manual task of individual clipping.

Within this highlight space, users are also able to toggle metrics to fi lter what they view, including both the distance from or time they spend on the ball. Segmented highlights can also be shared directly with players or parents themselves with the touch of a button, sharing a URL link.

Q) New lower cost option available is the Veo Go (utilising two smartphones) instead of the camera – is this the perfect entry level to VEO and what are the limitations to this option?

Our newest product development is our Veo Go solution. This makes use of devices you already own, with two Iphones placed into our Veo Go rig and tripod to record the match before utilising our AI software to clip the footage.

Users are able to then analyse the footage themselves from our Veo Editor platform, deep diving into the footage to watch highlights and breakdown matches to help improve your teams game.

We envisage this solution as the perfect entry level product for those clubs who are looking to take their fi rst steps into video and recording. Veo Go does not currently support our Livestream, Analytics or Player Spotlight functionalities, but it will be a perfect fi rst step for grassroots club looking to bridge the gap and engage with the of Video.

Q) Do you have a few key features planned, what are they and how will they help both highlight editors and analysts

So, we have lots of exciting new features and developments coming throughout the season. Most recently, we have publicly launched our coach assist feature, which supports coaches through innovative AI technology.

Coach Assist essentially transforms your raw match data into clear insights. Generating a match summary in seconds, it will provide tactical insights and reviews that help form coaches training sessions that week and the feedback they deliver their players.