Evaluating Wearable Technologies in Football: A Literature Review on Accuracy, Contextual Adaptability and Performance Monitoring
Research Article
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Evaluating Wearable Technologies in Football: A Literature Review on Accuracy, Contextual Adaptability and Performance Monitoring

Ruolan Wang 1* Haoyang Zhan 2
1 Loughborough University
2 Loughborough University
*Corresponding author: rl.macey.wang@gmail.com
Published on 26 November 2025
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TNS Vol.152
ISSN (Print): 2753-8826
ISSN (Online): 2753-8818
ISBN (Print): 978-1-80590-565-3
ISBN (Online): 978-1-80590-566-0
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Abstract

With the advancement of sports technology and the evolution of various athletic disciplines, demands for wearable devices in competitive sports settings continue to rise. Wearable technology has become central to performance monitoring in football, yet its accuracy, contextual adaptability, and usability across competitive levels still present areas for development. This paper employs a literature review methodology to examine GPS/GNSS systems, foot-mounted IMU sensors, and ECG/PPG-based heart rate monitors, analysing their efficacy, application scenarios, and limitations. It concludes that each device type demonstrates distinct advantages in specific contexts—GPS for outdoor tracking, IMUs for micro-movement detection, and ECG for physiological monitoring—highlighting the necessity for multi-sensor integration and standardised frameworks to enhance future applications.

Keywords:

Football Technology, Wearable Sensors, GPS and IMU Tracking, Performance Monitoring

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Wang,R.;Zhan,H. (2025). Evaluating Wearable Technologies in Football: A Literature Review on Accuracy, Contextual Adaptability and Performance Monitoring. Theoretical and Natural Science,152,42-47.

References

[1]. Tierney, P., Clarke, N. and Roberts, S. (2024) 'Use and application of wearable technology in football further education settings in the UK’, Sport, Education and Society, pp. 1–14. doi: 10.1080/13573322.2024.2404896.

[2]. Malone, J.J., Lovell, R., Varley, M.C. and Coutts, A.J. (2017). Unpacking the Black Box: Applications and Considerations for Using GPS Devices in Sport. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 12(s2), pp.S2-18S2-26. doi: https: //doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2016-0236.

[3]. Alanen, A., Räisänen, A., Benson, L. and Pasanen, K. (2021). The use of inertial measurement units for analysing change of direction movement in sports: A scoping review. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 16(6), pp.1332–1353. doi: https: //doi.org/10.1177/17479541211003064.

[4]. Pasadyn, S.R., Soudan, M., Gillinov, M., Houghtaling, P., Phelan, D., Gillinov, N., Bittel, B. and Desai, M.Y. (2019). Accuracy of commercially available heart rate monitors in athletes: a prospective study. Cardiovascular Diagnosis and Therapy, [online] 9(4), pp.379–385. doi: https: //doi.org/10.21037/cdt.2019.06.05.

[5]. Makar, P., Ana Filipa Silva, Oliveira, R., Marcin Janusiak, Parus, P., Smoter, M. and Filipe Manuel Clemente (2023). Assessing the agreement between a global navigation satellite system and an optical-tracking system for measuring total, high-speed running, and sprint distances in official soccer matches. Science Progress, 106(3). doi: https: //doi.org/10.1177/00368504231187501.

[6]. Simen Raaen Sandmæl and Dalen, T. (2023). Comparison of GPS and IMU systems for total distance, velocity, acceleration and deceleration measurements during small-sided games in football. Cogent Social Sciences, 9(1). doi: https: //doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2209365.

[7]. Pons, E., García-Calvo, T., Cos, F., Resta, R., Blanco, H., López del Campo, R., Díaz-García, J. and Pulido-González, J.J. (2021). Integrating video tracking and GPS to quantify accelerations and decelerations in elite football. Scientific Reports, 11(1). doi: https: //doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-97903-2.

[8]. İkizoğlu, S., Şahin, K., Ataş, A., Kara, E. and Çakar, T. (2017). IMU Acceleration Drift Compensation for Position Tracking in Ambulatory Gait Analysis. Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics, pp.582–589. doi: https: //doi.org/10.5220/0006422905820589.

[9]. GILLINOV, S., ETIWY, M., WANG, R., BLACKBURN, G., PHELAN, D., GILLINOV, A.M., HOUGHTALING, P., JAVADIKASGARI, H. and DESAI, M.Y. (2017). Variable Accuracy of Wearable Heart Rate Monitors during Aerobic Exercise. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 49(8), pp.1697–1703. doi: https: //doi.org/10.1249/mss.0000000000001284.

[10]. Polak, A.G., Klich, B., Stanisław Saganowski, Prucnal, M.A. and Przemysław Kazienko (2022). Processing Photoplethysmograms Recorded by Smartwatches to Improve the Quality of Derived Pulse Rate Variability. Sensors, 22(18), pp.7047–7047. doi: https: //doi.org/10.3390/s22187047.

[11]. Bastida Castillo, A. et al. (2018) 'Accuracy, intra- and inter-unit reliability, and comparison between GPS and UWB-based position-tracking systems used for time–motion analyses in soccer’, European Journal of Sport Science, 18(4), pp. 450–457. doi: 10.1080/17461391.2018.1427796..

[12]. Association, T.F. (2022). Law 4 - The Players’ Equipment. [online] www.thefa.com. Available at: https: //www.thefa.com/football-rules-governance/lawsandrules/laws/football-11-11/law-4---the-players-equipment .

[13]. Catapult (n.d.) Football analysis software. Available at: https: //www.catapult.com/sports/football (Accessed: 13 October 2025).

[14]. Piwek, L., Ellis, D.A., Andrews, S. and Joinson, A. (2016). The Rise of Consumer Health Wearables: Promises and Barriers. PLOS Medicine, [online] 13(2), p.e1001953. doi: https: //doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001953.

[15]. Wang, Z.Z., Xia, X. and Chen, Q. (2025). Multi-level data fusion enables collaborative dynamics analysis in team sports using wearable sensor networks. Scientific Reports, 15(1). doi: https: //doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-12920-9.

References

[1]. Tierney, P., Clarke, N. and Roberts, S. (2024) 'Use and application of wearable technology in football further education settings in the UK’, Sport, Education and Society, pp. 1–14. doi: 10.1080/13573322.2024.2404896.

[2]. Malone, J.J., Lovell, R., Varley, M.C. and Coutts, A.J. (2017). Unpacking the Black Box: Applications and Considerations for Using GPS Devices in Sport. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 12(s2), pp.S2-18S2-26. doi: https: //doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2016-0236.

[3]. Alanen, A., Räisänen, A., Benson, L. and Pasanen, K. (2021). The use of inertial measurement units for analysing change of direction movement in sports: A scoping review. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 16(6), pp.1332–1353. doi: https: //doi.org/10.1177/17479541211003064.

[4]. Pasadyn, S.R., Soudan, M., Gillinov, M., Houghtaling, P., Phelan, D., Gillinov, N., Bittel, B. and Desai, M.Y. (2019). Accuracy of commercially available heart rate monitors in athletes: a prospective study. Cardiovascular Diagnosis and Therapy, [online] 9(4), pp.379–385. doi: https: //doi.org/10.21037/cdt.2019.06.05.

[5]. Makar, P., Ana Filipa Silva, Oliveira, R., Marcin Janusiak, Parus, P., Smoter, M. and Filipe Manuel Clemente (2023). Assessing the agreement between a global navigation satellite system and an optical-tracking system for measuring total, high-speed running, and sprint distances in official soccer matches. Science Progress, 106(3). doi: https: //doi.org/10.1177/00368504231187501.

[6]. Simen Raaen Sandmæl and Dalen, T. (2023). Comparison of GPS and IMU systems for total distance, velocity, acceleration and deceleration measurements during small-sided games in football. Cogent Social Sciences, 9(1). doi: https: //doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2209365.

[7]. Pons, E., García-Calvo, T., Cos, F., Resta, R., Blanco, H., López del Campo, R., Díaz-García, J. and Pulido-González, J.J. (2021). Integrating video tracking and GPS to quantify accelerations and decelerations in elite football. Scientific Reports, 11(1). doi: https: //doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-97903-2.

[8]. İkizoğlu, S., Şahin, K., Ataş, A., Kara, E. and Çakar, T. (2017). IMU Acceleration Drift Compensation for Position Tracking in Ambulatory Gait Analysis. Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics, pp.582–589. doi: https: //doi.org/10.5220/0006422905820589.

[9]. GILLINOV, S., ETIWY, M., WANG, R., BLACKBURN, G., PHELAN, D., GILLINOV, A.M., HOUGHTALING, P., JAVADIKASGARI, H. and DESAI, M.Y. (2017). Variable Accuracy of Wearable Heart Rate Monitors during Aerobic Exercise. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 49(8), pp.1697–1703. doi: https: //doi.org/10.1249/mss.0000000000001284.

[10]. Polak, A.G., Klich, B., Stanisław Saganowski, Prucnal, M.A. and Przemysław Kazienko (2022). Processing Photoplethysmograms Recorded by Smartwatches to Improve the Quality of Derived Pulse Rate Variability. Sensors, 22(18), pp.7047–7047. doi: https: //doi.org/10.3390/s22187047.

[11]. Bastida Castillo, A. et al. (2018) 'Accuracy, intra- and inter-unit reliability, and comparison between GPS and UWB-based position-tracking systems used for time–motion analyses in soccer’, European Journal of Sport Science, 18(4), pp. 450–457. doi: 10.1080/17461391.2018.1427796..

[12]. Association, T.F. (2022). Law 4 - The Players’ Equipment. [online] www.thefa.com. Available at: https: //www.thefa.com/football-rules-governance/lawsandrules/laws/football-11-11/law-4---the-players-equipment .

[13]. Catapult (n.d.) Football analysis software. Available at: https: //www.catapult.com/sports/football (Accessed: 13 October 2025).

[14]. Piwek, L., Ellis, D.A., Andrews, S. and Joinson, A. (2016). The Rise of Consumer Health Wearables: Promises and Barriers. PLOS Medicine, [online] 13(2), p.e1001953. doi: https: //doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001953.

[15]. Wang, Z.Z., Xia, X. and Chen, Q. (2025). Multi-level data fusion enables collaborative dynamics analysis in team sports using wearable sensor networks. Scientific Reports, 15(1). doi: https: //doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-12920-9.

Cite this article

Wang,R.;Zhan,H. (2025). Evaluating Wearable Technologies in Football: A Literature Review on Accuracy, Contextual Adaptability and Performance Monitoring. Theoretical and Natural Science,152,42-47.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

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Volume title: Proceedings of ICMMGH 2026 Symposium: Biomedical Imaging and AI Applications in Neurorehabilitation

ISBN: 978-1-80590-565-3(Print) / 978-1-80590-566-0(Online)
Editor: Sheiladevi Sukumaran, Alan Wang
Conference website: https://www.icmmgh.org/auckland.html
Conference date: 14 November 2025
Series: Theoretical and Natural Science
Volume number: Vol.152
ISSN: 2753-8818(Print) / 2753-8826(Online)

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