Houston Dynamo FC announced today a multi-year agreement with Houston-based SRC FTBL (Source Football) to build an analytics department for the club with a focus on player identification and first team performance. SRC FTBL will guide the development of the club’s analytics department while supporting the first team and scouting department.
“We are excited to partner with SRC FTBL to provide advanced analytic services to the Dynamo,” Dynamo general manager, Pat Onstad said. “Our club aims to be at the forefront of applied analytics and Sara and Ravi are among the most respected data analysts in world football given their experience in the English Premier League, MLS and consulting work with other leading football clubs.”
SRC FTBL was founded in 2022 by three experts in football analytics: Ravi Ramineni, Sarah Rudd and Cole Grossman. The trio brings more than two decades of combined experience in the evolving space of football data and analytics.
Ramineni is the chief executive officer of SRC FTBL and brings more than a decade of MLS experience after building the analytics department at Seattle Sounders FC. The former vice president of analytics and research was a part of the Sounders team that won two MLS Cups, the 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League and qualified for the postseason nine times. He previously worked with Rudd at Microsoft as a program manager. He graduated from Clemson University with a master's degree in computer science.
“We are very excited to partner with Houston Dynamo FC, our first club partner in MLS. We are looking forward to working with Pat Onstad, Asher Mendelsohn, Ben Olsen and the entire Dynamo staff to develop the club's analytics infrastructure and processes,” Ramineni said. “The Dynamo are one of the most successful clubs historically in MLS, and we hope to help them compete for championships again.”
Rudd is the chief technical officer of SRC FTBL and joined the organization after developing and leading the analytics department at Arsenal Football Club, one of the most advanced in world football. In that time, Arsenal won the FA Cup four times and finished as the runner up during the 2015-2016 Premier League season. Rudd has also published a seminal research paper on possession and the impact of direct and indirect actions in the final third. She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in computer science and she earned her MBA from the University of Washington.
Grossman is a former professional soccer player. The Duke University graduate played for the Columbus Crew, Real Salt Lake and Stabaek Fotball in the Norwegian Eliteserien. After his career, he earned his MBA from INSEAD and studied data science at UCLA. He worked for Manchester United and Burnley Football Club before forming SRC with Sarah and Ravi.
To learn more about SRC FTBL, click here.
