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Norwich City have become renowned for their youth development over recent seasons, and this looks set to continue as they prepare to install new state-of-the-art technology at their training ground ahead of next season.
The Canaries have recently produced and then sold players such as James Maddison, Ben Godfrey, and Jamal Lewis for a combined total of over £60m; all now play in Premier League weekly. But the club has outlined a clear aspiration to progress their production line of young talent by agreeing to install the £750,000 SoccerBot360 virtual simulator.
Since Sporting Director Stuart Webber joined the Canaries in 2017, the German influence within the club has been highly documented in the media. In that time, the club have forged several links with German giants Borussia Dortmund. This led to a group of Norwich representatives visiting Dortmund’s training ground last summer to see the technology in action.
What is SoccerBot360?
The German-made device is an innovative high-tech tool, which creates simulations of in-game moments in matches with the sole aim of developing player technique and their cognitive abilities.
The 80-metre square area of pitch is surrounded by a 360-degree wall and uses projectors to beam simulations of match scenarios onto the video wall, allowing coaches to dictate the images through an iPad. It helps showcase managerial tactics to players in a visual format while sharpening their passing reactions through a moving target. It can also recreate a set of goalposts for shooting practice and collect statistics to help with player analysis.
RB Leipzig installed the technology to improve players’ spacial awareness and technical speed. It can benefit all players at the club, but with the main focus of unleashing trapped potential in youth players. This is why Stuart Webber was so keen to establish it at Norwich’s ever-developing training centre.
Leipzig’s former coach, Ralf Rangnick, described it as “PlayStation football, but with your feet”.
What impact could it have for Norwich?
When Norwich City launched a fan Canary Bond Scheme, which looked to generate £5m to develop their training centre from portacabins to a state-of-the-art facility, they probably did not envisage being leaders of training technology in England. However, they will be aware that many other Premier League and Championship clubs will be watching closely at how successful this investment becomes.
With Norwich’s business and project director, Zoe Ward stating that the installation will start next month, ready for next season, with Norwich looking on course for a Premier League return.
Speaking to Norwich’s official website, Zoe Ward quoted:
“The guys at Colney (Norwich’s training ground) are really excited about it.
“It will benefit players all the way from the under-9s to the first team. It gives players the ability to develop skills in a simulation environment, creating real-life scenarios and going over your decision-making.
“We think it will have a strong impact across our teams for a number of years.”
Daniel Farke has continued to provide the platform to some of Norwich’s exciting young talent, with the likes of Andrew Omobamidele, Tyrese Omotoye, Josh Martin, and Adam Idah all be handed Championship opportunities this season.
As the Canaries brace themselves for the inevitable sales of academy products Max Aarons and Todd Cantwell, they will be hopeful of producing their direct replacements through the help of the SoccerBot360. The purchase of this technology follows their blueprint of developing future talents that they can sell-on at high transfer fees, as the club continues to reap the benefits of their self-sustainable model.
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