How to select the right data provider of Football API

Selecting the right Football API for your sports business, game or hobby project is a difficult process. Whether you are looking for Livescores, Fixtures, Standings, Odds, or any other kind of Football Data, the questions are always the same: Which provider suits your needs? How do you pick the right one? In this blog, I will explain how I travelled this road, and which common Football API shortcomings I faced, followed by a deep dive into the API I think you should explore.

Once in a while we all have ingenious ideas (or at least, we think we do). Let’s suppose you have a great business concept in mind, for which you need Football Data. Proper Football Data. You dream of building a successful Football Website, Football App, Fantasy Football Game, Predictive Betting Website, or anything that requires high-quality Football Data Feeds.

Once you have the broad strokes figured out, the long and arduous search for reliable data providers starts. You will soon find a jungle of them online, which eventually may even leave you more confused than when you first set out. Careful though, there are lots of niches to cover, and many pitfalls to avoid.

Perhaps along the way, you will find what seems like the perfect provider. One that promises you great quality, stays up to date, and seems like the answer to all your prayers. But can you really trust them? Is their data really as reliable as they claim? Do they offer fast Livescores? Or are they just pretending to have fast Livescores?

Of course, you don’t want to spend money on the wrong provider. Unfortunately, it happens to almost every budding sports entrepreneur. So, let me help you in the right direction:

Common API shortcomings:

You come across a Football API that offers you Free Data. You’ve already spent quite some time and money on your project, but the low data quality is damaging your business. In fact, you are losing customers.

You will see inaccurate data at almost every provider. Lagging Livescores, duplicate data, and missing match events, to name a few. But especially with major leagues, accurate data is KEY for a successful business. Even longstanding customers will run away if your data is consistently off the mark.

Another problem you may come across is that those providers who do have a reputation of reliability and accuracy are ridiculously expensive. Let's face it, we all know there are some providers on the market with exorbitant prices an averagely-sized company simply can’t afford.

As I myself ran into these shortcomings with several providers time and again, I decided to start iSports API. My main goal is to provide the best API in the market, that eliminates all these problems. Let me guide you through the process of selecting the right API for you.

The most important 5 API characteristics：

Having a smoothly running Football API is the recipe for success in the businesses of Football Data and Football Betting Data. In order to become a pro and crack the code towards ultimate success, here are a few things you need to keep in mind.

Data Quality

You need good data quality. Now, what is the definition of good data quality? This is when your data is accurate, complete, fast, and up-to-date. I know that so far, I have been focussing on accuracy a lot, but it really deserves all that attention, because it is so essential. Low data quality can seriously harm your credibility and customer trust. Many providers claim to have high-quality data, but they don’t, on closer inspection. Investigate it thoroughly before you trust them!

Data Coverage

Depending on your needs, data coverage may be another critical succes factor. Check the leagues your provider covers. Especially if you want your business to grow in the future, try to select the API with high football leagues coverage. You don’t know how fast your business may grow, and switching APIs halfway is really not what you want, because it will cause extra development costs and delays. You can easily prevent this by choosing the right provider right away.

Speed of Livescores and match events

If livescores are part of your business concept, make sure they are FAST. A 45-second delay for livescore updates can really harm your business. In the Football Data business, you need to be spot-on, and that requires a provider that offers real-time speed. Be sure to test it when you are comparing different providers!

API Flexibility

Lots of providers have a terribly static API setup. So, when you want to customize one to your Football Data business concept, you may find yourself wasting too much time building inefficient and complex work-arounds in its code. A flexible API allows you to simply add or remove parameters from your requests, making customization a breeze.

Support

To kick-start your implementation, your provider’s support quality is critical as well. How quickly do they reply to your emails? Do they have proper documentation on their website? Are you able to test the API from the documentation itself? How quickly do they resolve your issues? Don’t underestimate the importance of you data provider’s support!

The topics above are only a few important aspects to consider when choosing the right Football API. Of course, there’s a ton of other factors to keep in mind. But now that you are familiar with the basic ingredients to the recipe of success, here is how isports API covers all of these.