On July 9th (Thursday) and 10th (Friday), 2026, the " SIT2026 Soccer Data Ideathon " was held in conjunction with " Sports Informatics and Technology 2026 (SIT2026) ," a research presentation conference on sports informatics. This ideathon was organized by the SIT2026 Ideathon Executive Committee, and planned and managed by this research department. We received cooperation from the Japan Professional Football League (J.League) and Data Stadium Co., Ltd. in providing the data.

This project utilized real-world professional soccer data from the 2025 season (broadcast and overhead footage, player, referee, and ball tracking data, foul and other event data/19 matches in total) to solicit ideas that would enhance the value of the sport, focusing on two themes: "team strengthening" and "referee support." Rather than a hackathon that concluded on the day, a research period of approximately 40 days was provided, and each participant/team submitted a 3-minute video presentation and a 1-page A4 manuscript.

24 teams participated, and after a preliminary online screening, the winning entries were screened as video presentations during a special session at SIT2026, and the following two entries were awarded.

■ Grand Prize Winner: Shuto Ikegami (Graduate School, University of Tsukuba)
"Player PRV - A new metric for evaluating build-up passing decisions and off-the-ball contributions."
■ Excellence Award: Masashi Maruyama (ORPHE Inc.)
"Evaluation of defensive reach ability through pitch control that takes into account in-game fatigue."

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who participated, as well as to J.League and Data Stadium Co., Ltd. for their cooperation in providing data and managing the event.