Sports Interactive · Football Data Certification

LMS Investment
ROI Case

LearnUpon · 1,000 users · £35,500/yr — adjust the assumptions below to model your business case for the COO & BD Director.

Annual Benefit
Total estimated recoverable value
Net Annual Gain
After £35,500 LMS licence
3-Year ROI
Return on total LMS investment
Payback Period
Months to break even
Costs & Staff Rates
Internal Staff Hourly Rate £30/hr
Blended rate for DB/Research internal staff
£20£60
HR Imputed Hourly Rate £15/hr
Volunteer value proxy for Head Researcher time
£0£40
Network Size
Head Researchers 150
50300
Assistant Researchers 1,600
2002,000
Churn & Retention
AR Churn (per month) 12/mo
≈ 144/yr replaced
3/mo30/mo
HR Churn (per year) 6/yr
Men's ~2/yr · Women's ~4/yr
1/yr20/yr
AR Churn Reduction (FDC effect) 20%
Better onboarding and community keeps ARs engaged longer
0%50%
HR Churn Reduction (FDC effect) 15%
0%40%
Onboarding — Internal Time Saved
Current HR onboarding (internal hrs) 12 hrs
4 hrs30 hrs
FDC HR onboarding (internal hrs) 3 hrs
1 hr15 hrs
Current AR onboarding (internal hrs) 5 hrs
1 hr20 hrs
FDC AR onboarding (internal hrs) 1 hr
0 hrs8 hrs
Research Process Q&A — Time Saved
Internal staff hrs/month on process Qs 10 hrs
Methodology, rating guidance, disputes, best practice
2 hrs40 hrs
HR network hrs/month on AR process Qs 20 hrs
Across all HRs combined per month
5 hrs80 hrs
% reduction via FDC Knowledge Base 40%
10%70%
Data query/bug hrs answered internally (mo) 15 hrs
Specific data disputes separate from process Qs
2 hrs40 hrs
% data query reduction (FDC effect) 30%
5%60%
FMDB Pro — Existing Clients
Clubs at risk from data quality gaps 5 clubs
Clients where quality is a retention or renewal concern
030
% of at-risk revenue recovered via FDC 50%
Improved standards & certified credentials retain clients
10%90%
FMDB Pro — Network Growth & New Markets
Network growth driven by FDC (yr 1) 5%
≈ 88 additional researchers on current network
1%20%
Researchers needed per serviceable nation 9
Minimum for good coverage; range ~8–10
520
Conversion: new nations → club contracts 25%
Not every newly-serviceable nation lands a deal immediately
5%75%
New clubs from wider recruitment pool 2 clubs
Women's football, non-FM backgrounds now serviceable
015
Succession Planning
Succession risk mitigation value (£/yr) £15,000
Cost avoided from unplanned senior HR exits; AR→HR pipeline
£0£100k
Annual Benefit Breakdown
Onboarding — internal time saved
Research process Q&A — internal staff
Research process Q&A — HR network
Data query & bug reduction
Retention — reduced churn cost
FMDB Pro — existing client revenue protected
FMDB Pro — network growth new contracts
FMDB Pro — wider recruitment new contracts
Succession risk mitigation
Structured AR→HR pipeline; reduced exposure to senior exits
Total Annual Benefit
Less: LearnUpon licence (£35,500)
3-Year Cumulative Net Gain
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
3-Year ROI
Return on total LMS investment over 3 years
Success Criteria Mapping
Modelled in ROI
Leading indicator / qualitative
AR departure −10%+ (6-month rolling)Modelled via AR churn reduction slider. Default 20% reduction on 144 departures/yr.
Network size +5% in 12 monthsModelled via network growth → new nations → FMDB Pro contracts chain.
Internal guideline queries −10%+Modelled across both data query and process Q&A sliders.
FMDB Pro sales improvementModelled via clubs at risk (retention) + network growth + wider recruitment (new contracts).
90%+ AR Pre-Cert pass rate (3 weeks)Platform adoption KPI. Confirms FDC is working; feeds retention and onboarding savings.
75% network Level 1 completion (6 months)Rollout KPI. Leading indicator for query reduction and standards alignment benefits.
DB&R bug logs −5%+ on SI ForumsDirectionally captured in data query reduction; hard to isolate as a standalone financial line.
70%+ positive smile sheet scoresSatisfaction signal. Validates content quality and supports retention and engagement assumptions.
Player profile attribute coverage +5%Key data quality metric. Links to FMDB Pro credibility and game simulation quality (see intangibles).
Strategic Value — Not Quantified
Research Philosophy Alignment
Five research pillars consistently practised across all nations. Foundational to data brand trust and FMDB Pro credibility — hard to price, impossible to ignore.
Player Profile Coverage at Scale (currently 8%)
Only ~41,000 of 500,000 active player profiles are fully attributed. Structured training is the primary lever to move this number — and full coverage is a direct FMDB Pro differentiator with professional clubs.
Researcher Audit Trail & Certification
Certified researchers create a defensible record of training standards. For professional clubs, this may become a contractual expectation. "Our researchers are certified to X standard" is a sales asset in FMDB Pro pitches.
Faster Time to Useful Output
Structured training shrinks the gap between joining and producing quality work — beyond the onboarding window alone. More researchers contributing sooner means faster coverage growth.
Game Simulation Quality & Player Retention
Poor regional data degrades FM's simulation quality and affects player experience at scale across 20 million players. Improved research standards protect SI's reputation and review scores.
Knowledge Capture & Institutional Memory
Best practice currently lives in the heads of senior HRs and internal staff. Every module written extracts that knowledge and makes it durable — reducing dependency on individuals and protecting against loss.
LMA Partnership Credibility
The confirmed LMA integration gives FDC modules professional football education legitimacy. This strengthens the FMDB Pro proposition and opens doors to further institutional partnerships.
Platform for Future Commercial Products
LearnUpon infrastructure at 1,000+ users could support paid external offerings — scouting education, data literacy for clubs — as the LMA relationship matures.