Belgian FA to use Firstbeat Sports in Pursuit of Euro 2020 and World Cup Success

The Belgium men’s national soccer team has agreed a multi-year deal with Firstbeat Sports.

The agreement will see the international side use the Firstbeat Sports Sensor and app and benefit from the athlete monitoring solutions’ advanced performance analytics through both the Euro 2020 and 2022 World Cup schedule.

Belgium currently sits among the top teams in the FIFA World Rankings. The Red Devils have opted to incorporate Firstbeat Sports into their setup to support those aspirations, with particular focus on enhancing their ability to monitor internal load and training responses on an individual and squad level.

They will have access to over 50 Firstbeat Sports metrics, including exclusive real-time TRIMP/min, Training Effect and Movement Load, plus tools like the Quick Recovery Test to gauge athlete readiness.

Dr. Philippe Rosier, Health and Performance Manager, Royal Belgian Football Association said:

“We chose Firstbeat Sports for several reasons. For one, it allows us to very easily analyze internal load information and, subsequently, connect that to our other monitoring tools. By analyzing if there is a mismatch between the imposed/performed external load and the internal response of the players, this will help us adapt training and recovery plans if needed.”

Arne Jaspers, Senior Data Analyst at Royal Belgian Football Association added:

“In our monitoring philosophy, knowing how an individual’s body responds to a certain external load is an important part of the training process puzzle. This allows us to analyze in detail physical fitness levels and to examine what is good and what could be done better. Firstbeat Sports will help us do this.”

“The quality and ease of use of the solution in terms of downloading and analyzing is a big plus. By introducing Firstbeat Sports, we hope to further improve our insights and profile the internal response of each player to the different training sessions and typical drills. In doing so, further optimizing our player blueprint and ability to adjust the prescribed training load if they are not responding as expected.”

Graham Stark, Sports Scientist at Firstbeat Sports said:

“We are delighted to welcome the Belgium national team to the Firstbeat Sports family and are proud to be working with them throughout the preparation for, and participation in, the Euro 2020 and 2022 World Cup campaigns.

“Firstbeat Sports’ analytics and easy-to-use solution have helped teams across the world to optimize performance, reduce injury risks, and fast-track player development. I am excited to see how the accurate internal and external load data we are able to provide – in real-time and during post-session analysis – can support Belgium’s players and coaching staff in pursuit of their goals.”

About Firstbeat: Firstbeat Sports is a single-platform athlete-monitoring solution that provides data on training loads, intensity, fitness testing, performance readiness, stress, and recovery in one place. Over 23,000 athletes representing over 1,000 teams around the world rely on Firstbeat Sports for their advanced physiological metrics.

About the Belgium Men’s National Team: The Belgium Men’s National Team has represented Belgium in international soccer competition since 1904. The Men’s Senior team is currently ranked 1st in the FIFA World Rankings and has appeared in 13 World Cups and five European Championships, most recently finishing third in the 2018 FIFA World Cup.