Academy research

For decades, training has taken place in the same settings.

Fields. Gyms. Whiteboards. Repetition.

But a new question is emerging on the sports horizon:

What if part of future training happens before touching the ball?

At BeFootball Academy, we have been exploring this possibility for some time. Not just theoretically, but through applied research. Because we believe immersive technologies have the potential to transform how athletes perceive, process, and understand the game.

Currently, we have two scientific papers pending publication that represent an important step in this research line. The first is a systematic review on the use of virtual reality, 360° video, and simulated environments in football. The second is our own intervention study conducted with youth goalkeepers using structured immersive training programs.

Beyond the specific results, both studies point in a very clear direction. Modern football no longer depends solely on leg speed. It also depends on how quickly a player interprets what happens around them.

Scan. Anticipate. Decide. Adapt. Read complex situations in fractions of a second.

Our study with goalkeepers also provides original evidence on how an immersive training program can improve variables related to reaction speed, accuracy, visomotor discrimination, and error reduction within simulated environments. The results also show changes in physiological indicators linked to autonomic regulation, raising new questions about the relationship between immersion, performance, and athlete adaptation.

Meanwhile, we continue expanding this research line. We are currently developing a new intervention with youth female footballers that incorporates tactical, psychological, psychophysiological, and academic variables to better understand how these tools can influence the comprehensive development of players.

Our research starts precisely from this idea: exploring how immersive technologies can become tools capable of training cognitive and perceptual skills that are decisive in modern sports performance. Because if for decades football has perfected how to train muscles, now it is time to understand how to also train the milliseconds that separate a good decision from an extraordinary one.