You may well have seen the abbreviation CIES doing the rounds across social media and news outlets. With a particular focus on determining player values, its self-professed ‘football observatory’ also boasts demography tools to help compare squads, as well as software mapping the international flow of players. So what is the CIES Football Observatory? Read below as we take a deep dive into this hugely beneficial tool and how it works.
What is the CIES Football Observatory?
Better known by its abbreviation CIES, the International Centre for Sports Studies, or as its known in its native tongue, the Centre International d’Etude du Sport, is a research organisation based out of Switzerland.
Primarily, the independent statistical analysis and educational work is carried out to better understand the ins and outs of elite sport.
The CIES Football Observatory is research branch of the centre, focusing on football-related matters such as demography, tactical analysis, and perhaps most pertinently, estimations grounded in a scientific model in relation to player values.
It is the brainchild of Dr. Raffaele Poli and Dr. Loïc Ravenel who conceived of the research group in 2005, and to this day serve as one of the four lead researchers who contribute to its daily output.
How Does the CIES Football Observatory Determine Player Values?
You may have seen the CIES Football Observatory attached to a number of player value-related data visuals, which are often shared across social media and between news publications.
The perpetual transfer rumour mill is polluted by speculative player values and made-up figures, so their primary goal is to provide a clear and legitimate research tool which reflects the true value of players across the world.
Using a statistical model devised a decade ago, the database allows users to access over 30,000 players.
A peer reviewed journal, which analysed over 2000 transactions of players from clubs in the five major European leagues between July 2012 to November 2021, is the basis for the most recent iteration of the model.
It primarily takes into consideration the remaining duration of contracts to accurately determine how much a player would cost, as opposed to their perceived market value.
CIES Football Observatory Player Value Examples
Recent examples of the CIES Football Observatory have seen them release figures on the world’s most valuable players, which you can see below.
The most valuable players in football.
— @CIES_Football pic.twitter.com/sv5EwXwIcC
— Madrid Universal (@MadridUniversal) June 7, 2023
Just this afternoon, they also released a list of the most valuable goalkeepers in world football.
Most expensive goalkeepers 🗺️ as per exclusive @CIES_Football ⚽ statistical model
🥇 #AaronRamsdale 🏴 (@arsenal)
🥈 #GigiDonnarumma 🇮🇹 (@PSG_inside)
🥉 #AlissonBecker 🇧🇷 (@LFC)
Top 💯 👉 https://t.co/ISlPAFhHQv pic.twitter.com/6IqyZQ4Vcd— CIES Football Obs (@CIES_Football) June 7, 2023
Related Football Content
- Football Betting Tips 2023 – Latest Picks & Football Tips
- Football Predictions June 2023
- Football Accumulator Tips 2023 – Latest Acca Betting Tips
- Best Correct Score Tipsters on Telegram & Social Media 2023
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
