FC Porto Builds on Long-Standing Firstbeat Sports Partnership

FC Porto has taken their relationship with Firstbeat Sports to the next level for the 2020-21 season by introducing the Firstbeat Sports app and Sensor to their athlete monitoring setup.

The reigning Primera Liga champions have used the single-platform solution to support training and recovery guidance since 2017, a span that has seen the Portuguese club win two league titles and one Taca de Portugal trophy. By adopting the to the latest Firstbeat Sports solution as they compete domestically and in the UEFA Champions League, they will benefit from the next-generation solution that brings increased mobility and flexibility to coaching at a crucial time.

Introduced in mid-2019, the Firstbeat Sports app and Sensor combination means coaches can collect, access, and upload real-time player data from multiple locations simultaneously. The in-build memory in the Sensor also means that athlete data is collected regardless of range, ready for post-session analysis.

“Using the Firstbeat Sports Sensor and Firstbeat Sports: Coach app has helped us tremendously already,” explains FC Porto’s Physical Coach and Sports Scientist Telmo Sousa.

“The ability to see individual player results in real-time as we move around training without having to worry about monitors or collecting data when players move out of range has allowed us to make confident training decisions in the moment and during post-analysis, based on accurate internal load data.”

Introducing this solution also acts as a safety net in uncertain times. Should some, or all, of the first team squad be forced to return to remote training as seen during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, athletes will be able to use the Live app to save and upload data from workouts conducted remotely. This will avoid data blind spots and allow coaches to continue to track the status of their squad from a distance.

“We have worked with FC Porto for several seasons and are delighted they have chosen to take this next step as they embark on another important campaign,” says Christoph Rottensteiner, Firstbeat Sports Manager Europe.

“In these times, having access to the reliable data you want with minimal fuss has taken on greater meaning. The Firstbeat Sports app and Sensor provide this. I’m excited for the coaching staff and athletes from FC Porto to take advantage of our science-based technology as they continue to optimize performance and recovery methods using valuable internal load data, as well as being prepared for the worst-case scenario i.e., some players or even the whole team needing to train in quarantine.”

FC Porto is one of over 1,000 elite sports teams using Firstbeat Sports, including 25 percent of clubs participating in this season’s UEFA Champions League.

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 FC Porto: FC Porto is a professional soccer club based in Porto, Portugal. They were founded in 1893 and compete in the Primeira Liga where they are the reigning champions. They have won 78 major trophies in senior football, including 29 Primeira Liga title. In the 2020-21 season, they will compete in the UEFA Champions League and are coached by Sérgio Conceição.