Sam Gregory

Fifteen years ago, I got my dream job writing for MLSsoccer. Last week, that came to an end.

I'm off on my own, and it's time to build something new – with a little help from all of you.
tacticsfreezone.ghost.io/an-end-to-my...

Such sad news - Vassili was a trailblazer in MLS when it came to moving from analysis to sporting leadership positions. That he did all of this while fighting cancer and being so open about his journey made it all the more impressive.

Sending my best to his friends and family ♥️

Introducing Glass Onion by US Soccer, An Identifier Synchronization Tool — American Soccer Analysis By Akshay Easwaran Every soccer data analysis group has had the same jump-scare: they sign data provider contract #2, and suddenly, they need a solution to link teams, matches, and players across th...

There's a new tool from @ussoccer.com and @akeaswaran.me is here to tell you about it. Introducing Glass Onion, an Identifier Synchronization Tool

www.americansocceranalysis.com/home/2026/1/...

🔴 Sources: Sam Goldberg to be named the New York Red Bulls's new director of soccer.

The 28-year-old will be responsible for transfer strategy, salary cap, scouting and data teams.

He joined RBNY in 2021. Was previously head of player personnel.

Really excited to get this project in the public eye. Our mandate at U.S. Soccer is to Grow the Game: lowering the barrier to entry for analysis is the best way we can do that!

Great work from @akeaswaran.me in getting this tool built and released!

This is part of a broader effort from our data analytics team at US soccer to support not just our national teams internally but the broader data analytics and club ecosystem as a whole.

Final speaker announcement!

The ASI Summit is excited to welcome its last industry speaker: Oliver Miller-Farrell. Miller-Farrell is the Assistant General Manager of Nashville Soccer Club.

Register: americansoccerinsights.com/registration/

Continuing the tradition, I have compiled an end-of-year overview of the soccer analytics content that I liked the most in 2025. This edition includes pointers to about 200 resources, including research papers, blog posts, news articles, podcasts, and webinars.

janvanhaaren.be/posts/soccer...

Speaker Announcement: Debashis Mondal, Associate Professor at Washington University.

Another announcement:

We are excited to welcome the Summit’s next academic speaker, Debashis Mondal. Mondal is an Associate Professor in the Department of Statistics and Data Science at Washington University in St. Louis.

Register for the Summit: americansoccerinsights.com/registration/

US: ICE Arrest at FIFA Event Spotlights Dangers for World Cup The arrest and return of an asylum seeker who took his children to the Club World Cup soccer tournament final on July 13, 2025, raises serious concerns about the safety of noncitizens attending the 20...

@hrw.org has documented the case of a man who was arrested at the final of the FIFA Club World Cup, which he had been attending with his young sons, and deported. www.hrw.org/news/2025/12...

Imagine if they just subsidized newspapers and magazines the way they’re subsidizing this slop

American Soccer Insights Summit, January 30-31 2026. Early registration closes on Dec 1st.

Reminder: early registration for the American Soccer Insights Summit closes at 11:59 PM CT on Monday, December 1st.

To take advantage of the 20% discount, be sure to secure your tickets before then. Click the link below to register!

americansoccerinsights.com/registration/

Speaker announcement!

The ASI Summit is excited to welcome its next speaker, Devin Pleuler. Pleuler is the Senior Director of Research and Development at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, where he leads the Sport Performance Lab.

Register for the Summit: 
americansoccerinsights.com/registration/

The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.

One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc

A great hire and a continued acknowledgement of the importance of analytics savvy in sporting director roles in MLS. 👏👏

Leadership.

Another announcement:

We are excited to welcome the Summit’s next speaker, Kendall Thomas. Thomas is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in Statistics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Register for the Summit: 
americansoccerinsights.com/registration/

Thinking about this for most of the night, I don't think normal people realise Banerjee & Duflo leaving MIT is Bad-Bunny-level academic news.

www.barrons.com/news/nobel-w...

REMINDER: The call for abstracts for the 2026 American Soccer Insights Summit closes at 11:59 PM CT on October 1st.

We’re looking for talks that show how data—especially statistics and machine learning—can unlock insights to help players and teams perform their best.

Info: tinyurl.com/3v4tkek5

A goal of ours with ASI going into 2026 was to make this a truly pan-Americas soccer analytics conference.

Really excited about having Carlos Vela - who brings an extensive background in technical/sporting director roles in Mexico and now Costa Rica - as our keynote speaker.

Targeting trans athletes was always going to have minimal impact on professional sports but significant detrimental impacts at the youth and amateur levels.

If you think children playing sports is a net societal positive (a statement I imagine would have broad support) this is bad legislation.

Me proposing to my fiancé in front of Lake Michigan

Transfer window may be closed but I still managed to secure a key permanent move this weekend.

Yeah I mean I’m all for Mike’s change of penalties coming before ET but please keep the period id for penalties as 5 and ET as 3 and 4.

I believe the engineers working on your broadcast tracking data would respectfully disagree.

Call for proposals: CLOSING SOON! Deadline: September 1, 11:59 PM CT. Brought to you by SkillCorner.

REMINDER: The call for proposals for the 2026 American Soccer Insights Summit closes at 11:59 PM CT on September 1st.

In partnership with SkillCorner, we are excited to offer women’s soccer tracking data to support the researchers who send us the best proposals.

More info: tinyurl.com/34rkpb8f

Exciting times: Our first ever NWSL analytics tiers are here. Shoutout @washingtonspirit.com and James Hocken as our first nerd boss. www.americansocceranalysis.com/home/2025/8/...

As always clubs/employees, if we're wrong about your role/title or missed someone, let us know.

Want to present at ASI? There are two ways to participate: {arrow pointing right to scroll}

Call for Proposals. Deadline: September 1, 2025. Brought to you by SkillCorner.

Call for abstracts. Apply to present a contributed talk. Deadline: October 1 2025.

Interested in presenting?

There are two ways to showcase your work at the 2026 ASI Summit. For more information on submitting proposals and abstracts, visit:

americansoccerinsights.com

I think what can change is how effectively decision-makers (and which decision-makers) are using this information in their processes. However infrastructure doesn't get built or disappear overnight - even as analytics staffers come and go.

1. I love that this is a yearly thing

2. Shows analysts are just as prone to recency bias as anyone else. Outside of a few significant exceptions almost no way teams can swing as drastically from most to least analytically advanced or vice-versa in the course of one year