Learning Real-Life Football Tactics

Using Active Inference to learn optimal football strategies

Project Overview

This research project aims to apply Active Inference principles to learn and optimize football tactics in real-world scenarios. By modeling football players as Active Inference agents, we can develop a framework that learns optimal positioning, movement patterns, and decision-making in dynamic game situations. The project combines cutting-edge AI research with practical sports applications.

Research Goals

• Develop an Active Inference framework for multi-agent coordination in football
• Create realistic simulations of football scenarios using RxEnvironments.jl
• Bridge the gap between theoretical models and practical football tactics
• Validate learned strategies in real-world training scenarios

Technical Approach

• Multi-agent Active Inference implementation using RxInfer.jl
• Real-time position and movement tracking data integration
• Hierarchical model structure for different time scales:
  • Strategic level (game plan)
  • Tactical level (situational decisions)
  • Operational level (individual movements)
• Integration with existing football analytics frameworks

Applications

• Automated tactical analysis of game situations
• Real-time strategy suggestions during matches
• Training program optimization
• Player development through personalized feedback
• Team composition optimization

Student Opportunities

We are currently recruiting Master’s students interested in:

• Machine Learning
• Active Inference
• Multi-agent Systems
• Real-world AI Applications
• Football

Ideal candidates should have:

• Strong programming skills (Julia/Python)
• Interest in sports analytics
• Background in machine learning or AI
• Understanding of football tactics (playing experience is a plus)

Current Status

This is an ongoing research project where we collaborate with football clubs to validate our approaches. We’re particularly interested in:

• Developing new Active Inference models for team sports
• Creating practical tools for coaches and analysts
• Validating theoretical models with real-world data
• Bridging the gap between AI research and sports practice

Interested students can contact me for more information about thesis opportunities in this project.