CHICAGO (June 7, 2017) – U.S. Soccer will host an inaugural U.S. Soccer Hackathon on July 14-15 in Chicago at 1871 - Chicago's Center for Technology and Entrepreneurship. It will be the first soccer-specific hackathon to take place in North America.
The event will attract engineers, developers, data scientists, and students from across the country to gather in a world-class work space (1871 was recently rated as the top incubator in the world, per UBI Global). Attendees will access exclusive data used by federations and professional clubs, develop solutions for soccer industry problems, and share ideas to push the sport forward from commercial and soccer standpoints.
Hackers for the event will be divided into teams and challenged to use the provided data to develop an innovative solution or new insight that would present commercial or sporting value for a soccer federation, league or club.
A panel of judges will evaluate the team submissions and select two winners. The grand prize-winning team will receive an Ultimate Fan Ticket to a U.S. Soccer-sponsored match of their choice in 2019, including airfare and hotel. In addition, they’ll receive regular tickets to all other U.S. Soccer-sponsored matches in 2019. The runners-up will also receive tickets to all U.S. Soccer-sponsored matches in 2019.
Opta is the Official Live Match Data Provider of U.S. Soccer and will be providing match data from international competitions and domestic leagues. Additional data also will be provided, and hackers will be allowed to supplement with publicly available data.
On the second day of the event, U.S. Soccer will host a viewing party for hackers to enjoy the biggest soccer Final on earth.
No purchase is necessary to participate in the event, and applications will be reviewed to ensure a minimum level of ability among all hackers. Details, including how to apply, can be found at ussoccer.com/hackathon.