Parma, 19 June 2024 - Romania, currently involved in the 2024 European Championships, got the first win under their belt against Ukraine, with two assists from the Gialloblu's Dennis Man and Valentin Mihaila coming on in the second half.

The Romanian national team's departure, before the European championship, was marked by a huge event, organised by the Romanian FA (FRF), 'DATATHON', which saw the participation of the most important global Data&Analytics players. And Parma Calcio had a decisive role, too, represented by the figure of Sébastien Coustou, the Club's Data&Analytics Director, in analysing the sporting data of the national team that Man and Mihaila are members of and their opponents in the European championship currently ongoing in Germany.

The event, held over three days, in addition to the presence of Parma Calcio, saw the participation of Harvey Rutherford (FIFA Football Data Analyst) and Gabriele Gnecco (Senior Consultant of Hudl). Supporting them for the tutoring and the technical part were top experts from Google Cloud and Data Talks, partners of the event.

The Romanian FA launched this challenge with the FRF Intelligence Centre, where all the participants (around 50 from around the world) analysed the Romanian national team's next opponents in the Finals of the tournament in Germany: indications were provided on the processes used by those present and on the use of advanced data analysis technologies. Romanian football experts, such as Daniel Sandu from Rapid Bucharest, Gabriel Glăvan from the Association's Coaching School and Vlăduț Lakatos of FRF, also contributed to the success of this event with their valuable experience. Along the way, the assets used, such as machine learning, artificial intelligence and prompting engineering, were all significant.

“I am deeply honored to have taken part in this incredible event. The energy and creativity to come out in just under 48 hours was remarkable. Witnessing such a talented and dedicated group of people collaborate was truly inspiring. This type of initiative has great potential, as it brings very talented people around the table to help the team and staff. Also to see and learn about other cultures, deepening knowledge of the data supporting the Romanian technical area. I am really enthusiastic and curious to see the positive impact that the idea of ​​the work we have proposed will have on the way the Romanian national team works,' declared Parma Calcio's Data&Analaytics Director, Sébastien Coustou.

The DATATHON was just the beginning for the FRF Intelligence Centre community, which has as its main objective to build a pool of data experts capable of supporting the development of sports performance in Romania. The FRF Intelligence Centre has the vision of 'empowering Romanian football through data_driven insights for more informed decisions and better football'. And Parma Calcio was involved in this development process of innovation and excellence in sport.