FIELD OF PLAY​​

The Athletic

Carl Anka

Senior Writer – The Athletic

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Carl Anka is a senior writer at The Athletic and one of the most recognisable contemporary voices covering Manchester United and English football. His work blends deep reporting with clear, confident storytelling, making complex ideas and human stories accessible to broad audiences.

With a background across journalism, media production and culture writing, Carl brings a rare combination of insight, craft and narrative clarity to modern sports coverage.

AT Analysis

Alec Tate

Founder of AT Analysis, Elite Professional Football Analyst

Alec Tate is a personal tactical analyst for elite footballers, providing specialised 1-to-1 support to players competing in the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, and international tournaments.

With experience as a first-team analyst in top-flight football, he now helps players make smarter decisions through tailored match preparation and tactical insight. He is pioneering a revolutionary approach to external player support, giving modern players a consistent competitive edge on the pitch.

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Gotham FC

Mae Rennick

Lead Analyst​

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Mae Rennick is Lead Analyst at Gotham FC in the NWSL, bringing experience from the New Jersey Devils in the NHL and a background in player-development analytics and data communication.

Her career spans education and marine science, giving her a rare perspective on how complex ideas can be translated into clear decisions in sport.

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ex-Miami Marlins

Alexandre Andorra

Senior Data Scientist​​

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Alexandre Andorra is a Senior Data Scientist with 8+ years building production probabilistic AI systems across sports analytics, pharma, and tech. He specialises in Bayesian ML, causal inference, and time series forecasting, with a proven track record of translating complex statistical models into measurable business impact.
 

At the Miami Marlins, he built Bayesian forecasting models processing 50K+ tracking events per game to predict player performance and inform $100M+ roster decisions. Before moving into baseball, he co-founded PyMC Labs, delivering advanced probabilistic modelling for Fortune 500 clients, and helped grow one of the largest Bayesian learning communities through the Learning Bayesian Statistics podcast. He is a core contributor to PyMC and an experienced teacher of Bayesian methods.

Seattle Seahawks

Patrick Ward

Research & Development Team Lead

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Patrick Ward leads the R&D team at the Seattle Seahawks, where he applies data, sport science and applied research to performance, injury and decision making in elite American football.

He previously worked in the Nike Sports Research Lab and holds a PhD in sports science, with a career that spans data driven training, athlete preparation and cross sport performance insight.

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Ajax

Mirjam Bruinsma

Head of Football Analytics

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Mirjam Bruinsma is Head of Football Analytics at AFC Ajax, leading the club’s data science function and shaping how evidence and insight inform decisions across scouting, performance and talent development.

With a Master’s in Computational Science from the University of Amsterdam and over five years embedded at Ajax, she has built models, workflows and decision-support tools that have become core to the club’s analytics capability. Her work sits at the intersection of football, science and technology, helping one of Europe’s most respected academies and first teams stay at the forefront of data-driven thinking.

TSG Hoffenheim

Niklas Hagenhoff

First Team Match Analyst​

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Niklas Hagenhoff is a First Team Match Analyst at TSG Hoffenheim, a team currently flying high in the Bundesliga.

Holding a UEFA A Licence and with a background spanning academy leadership, coaching and scientific methodology, his work focuses on connecting data literacy to tactical insight and real on-pitch decision making, in environments where clarity, speed of thought and consistent direction really matter.