Opta

Opta is a sports data and analytics company that collects, processes, and distributes performance statistics across professional football, cricket, rugby, and other sports. Founded in 1996 in the United Kingdom, it is now part of Stats Perform, a global sports data business. Opta's statistical outputs are widely used by broadcasters, clubs, coaches, journalists, and betting operators. In football, Opta data is treated as the industry standard for match-by-match performance metrics, historical records, and real-time live data feeds.

Opta data is cited throughout coverage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup as the source of record for historical and in-match statistics. Opta confirmed that Scotland's four-goal first half in a 4-0 win over Bolivia on 6 June 2026 was 'the first four-goal first half in Scotland's international history'. The same data infrastructure tracks the opening-match records and statistical novelties that emerge across the 48-team tournament, including Mexico's historical record in World Cup openers.

In a 104-match tournament generating the largest volume of World Cup match data in history, Opta's role as the statistical source of record for broadcasters and journalists has grown correspondingly. Their real-time feeds power television graphics, web platforms, and post-match analysis across the tournament's multiple host cities.