Statement from the League – embargoed until midnight on 31st March

As we move into the final month of the regular season, it is an appropriate time to consider concerns and issues raised by member clubs. A frequent topic has been the problems caused by teams having to make long trips in midweek – not only the costs of travelling, but the difficulties for players and management who have full-time jobs and have to take time off work, and, of course, for travelling volunteers and supporters.

With advances in technology, and the recent encouragement from the Government to embrace the benefits of Artificial Intelligence (AI), we are in a position to trial a system which could alleviate those concerns. This system uses AI to predict the outcome of midweek games where a team would have to travel more than three hours or over 100 miles one way. We have been working with an entrepreneurial company formed by a group of former players who have worked with experts to develop a very sophisticated AI model to predict match results. This model takes into account recent form, player GPS tracking data, suspensions, state of pitches, past encounters, weather forecasts and myriad other factors. It was trialled in secret during February for the Gosport Borough vs Gloucester City, Hanwell Town vs Wimborne Town, and Merthyr Town vs Basingstoke Town games. The results have been remarkably accurate, and very encouraging.

We are embarking on a period of consultation with a small number of specially selected clubs, namely those mentioned above, before introducing the system on a trial basis during the winter months of the 2025-26 season.

Statement ends

WTFC Finance Director commented: “Firstly, it shows how far WTFC has come as we are the only club in Dorset being asked to comment on this proposal. With regard to the proposition itself, I think we should keep an open mind. It’s easy to spot the flaws, but there are definite benefits for the travelling team.”

However, not everyone is in agreement. A WTFC Director, who wishes to remain anonymous, commented: “There’s no way this will be 100% accurate. When I was playing in goal, and then in management, it’s impossible to predict exactly what will happen. There could be a deflection, a poor decision by the officials, a miss-hit back-pass, a bobble on the pitch. There’s no way this AI bot, or whatever it’s called, will get it right all of the time. Football is a real game played by real athletes and watched by real people, it’s not a computer model!”