Coaches have always worked to build that awareness, and eye tracking adds something new by showing what players actually see, not just what coaches think they saw.
Osama Abbas is a Perception Analyst Expert and Football Coach Educator. He has worked with federations, elite clubs, and grassroots teams globally, specializing in enhancing players’ situational awareness and decision-making. He has partnered with Tobii for more than a decade, exploring how wearable eye trackers could help improve the performance of the football players he coaches. As a Tobii ambassador, he continues to share his knowledge on how players can benefit from eye tracking insights in their performance.
Watch the interview with Osama Abbas on how he uses wearable eye trackers to improve player performance and decision-making.
For Osama, one of the biggest strengths of eye tracking is the possibility for the player to review the game from their own perspective. Visual awareness is one of the most discussed parts of football coaching and usually one of the hardest to make visible.
Seeing the game from their own eyes gives them the possibility for the first time to see their visual awareness.Osama Abbas, Football Perception Analyst Expert, TactIQ
Instead of guessing whether a player noticed an opportunity opening or saw an opponent’s movement, coaches and players can review the moment together and study decision-making firsthand. That makes feedback more precise and reflection more immediate. Those reviews often lead to a moment of realization...
When they see it, it’s like a light bulb lights up over their heads. For the first time, players see exactly what they are looking at. If they looked at the ball instead of the opponent, or if they scanned early enough to prepare for the next action.Osama Abbas, Football Perception Analyst Expert, TactIQ
Head-turning frequency
How they scan their surroundings
The timing of those scans
Where they look
How often they look at the ball
All of this is in relation to the teams’ way of playing.
That level of detail helps connect visual behavior to tactical demands instead of treating awareness as a vague concept. It also improves feedback. They are not only being told what to improve. They can see it for themselves. That creates a stronger foundation for reflection, learning, and more targeted development.
As coaches, we give feedback on what we see. But with the glasses, players can see for themselves and reflect on their behavior on the field.Osama Abbas, Football Perception Analyst Expert, TactIQ
For Osama Abbas, that is what makes eye tracking so valuable in football. It helps make invisible processes visible. It turns awareness, scanning, and decision-making into something players and coaches can review together. In a game where small margins matter, that can make a real difference.
Seeing the game through the player’s eyes does not replace coaching intuition. It strengthens it with evidence.
In collaboration with
Osama is a Sweden-based expert in football perception and visual perception analysis with more then a decade of experience working with federations, elite clubs, and grassroots teams worldwide. He helps players improve situational awareness and decision-making, and delivers coach education and training through TactIQ.
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