How to Record a Soccer Game, A Complete Guide for Coaches
Frederik Hvillum
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Learn how to record a soccer game properly. Camera position, equipment, setup, and how AI cameras automate the whole process. A practical guide for coaches.
To record a soccer game properly, position a wide-angle camera at the halfway line, elevated as high as possible above pitch level, and press record before kick-off. Veo's tripods reach 5.2 m and 7.4 m respectively. AI cameras handle tracking and upload automatically with no operator needed. This guide covers equipment, positioning, setup, and how to store and share footage after the match.
Recording a soccer game well means capturing the full pitch from an elevated position, with stable footage that shows team shape, player movement, and key moments clearly enough for post-match analysis and recruiting use.
This guide covers everything coaches need to get it right: where to position the camera, what equipment works, how AI cameras handle the process automatically, and how to store and share footage after the match.
What equipment do you need to record a soccer game?
To record a soccer game properly, you need three things: a camera that covers the full pitch automatically, a tripod tall enough to get above the action, and a phone hotspot to upload footage after the match.
Veo Cam 3 handles all of this in one system. The camera weighs 1.25 kg, films in 4K, and tracks play automatically from an elevated position on the tripod. No operator needed. No SD card to manage. No manual file transfer. Once the match ends, footage uploads automatically to the Veo platform via your phone hotspot and is ready to watch in the Veo Editor soon after processing.
Veo's tripods are designed specifically for sports recording. The small tripod reaches 5.2 m and the large tripod reaches 7.4 m. The large tripod is recommended for full-size pitches where capturing both penalty areas simultaneously matters.
With 4.5 hours of battery life, Veo Cam 3 covers warmups, the full match, and extra time on a single charge.
See Veo Cam 3 and available tripods
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Where should you position a camera to record a soccer game?
Camera position is the single most important factor in producing usable match footage. A camera positioned correctly from an average tripod height will outperform an expensive camera positioned badly.
Height. The camera needs to be elevated well above the heads of players and spectators on the touchline. The higher the camera, the more of the pitch is visible in frame. Veo's small tripod reaches 5.2 m and the large tripod reaches 7.4 m. The large tripod is recommended for full-size pitches where capturing both penalty areas simultaneously matters.
Central position. Position the camera at the halfway line. This gives equal coverage of both halves and captures the widest possible view of team shape and movement.
Touchline side. Record from the touchline, facing across the pitch. Recording from behind the goal captures one end well and the other poorly, and misses the tactical picture entirely.
Unobstructed view. Check the line of sight before the match starts. Trees, fencing, floodlight pylons, and other spectators will all appear in the footage if the camera is not positioned carefully. A few minutes of preparation before kick-off prevents unusable footage.
What is the difference between manual and automatic recording?
Manual recording requires a camera operator to follow play throughout the match. The operator pans left and right to keep the ball in frame, zooms in on action near goal, and makes constant decisions about where to point the camera. When the operator gets it wrong, or moves to follow one player while something important happens elsewhere, that moment is lost.
The practical problem with manual recording is that the person operating the camera cannot also be coaching. For most high school and grassroots coaches, manual recording means either hiring someone to film, asking a parent to operate the camera, or losing a staff member to camera duty for 90 minutes.
AI camera systems record automatically. The camera tracks the ball and play across the full pitch without any operator. A coach sets it up before the match, presses record, and collects it at the end. The footage covers the entire game, including the moments that happen away from the ball.
For teams that play multiple times a week, the difference in time and effort is significant.
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How do AI soccer cameras work?
AI soccer cameras use computer vision to identify the ball and track its movement across the pitch. The camera adjusts its view automatically to keep play in frame, following the action from the elevated position it is mounted on.
Veo Cam 3 films matches in 4K from a fixed elevated position on a tripod. The AI tracking system follows the ball automatically, with no operator required. Once the match ends, footage uploads automatically to the Veo platform via a phone hotspot. Coaches can access the full match within hours of the final whistle, with automatic event tagging identifying goals, shots, corners, and other key moments without any manual input.
For teams that want to record training sessions as well as matches, the same setup applies. The camera records continuously from its elevated position, capturing every moment across the full session.
See how Veo Cam 3 works and what it covers
How do you set up a camera to record a soccer game?
With Veo Cam 3, setup takes under five minutes. Mount the camera on the tripod at the halfway line. Open the Veo Camera App on your phone and connect to the camera. The app detects it automatically. Press record. The camera handles everything from that point, tracking play across the full pitch without any input from you.
After the match, press stop. Footage uploads automatically to your Veo Clubhouse via your phone hotspot and is ready to watch in the Veo Editor soon after processing.
Marcin Kochanowski, Analysis Department Coordinator at Pogon Szczecin Academy, describes it: "Very simple. We use a tripod, set up the tripod with the camera, turn on the camera. When it's on, we only need the Veo app, which automatically detects the camera, connects to it, and records. After the match, we press stop, and the match is automatically transferred to our database."
For coaches using a manual camera, setup involves positioning the tripod at the halfway line, checking battery and storage, and finding someone to operate the camera for the full 90 minutes.
How do you store and share soccer game footage?
With manual recordings, footage is stored on the camera and needs to be transferred to a computer or cloud platform before it can be shared. Transferring large video files can take several hours.
With Veo, footage uploads automatically to the platform after the match. The coach does not need to transfer files manually. Once uploaded, the full match is accessible to anyone the coach shares it with via a link. Individual clips can be extracted and shared separately for recruiting, player development conversations, or post-match review.
More than 40,000 clubs across 100 countries store and share footage this way, with over 4 million matches filmed on the platform (Veo internal data, 2026).
See how Veo's platform stores, organises, and shares match footage.
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What is the best camera for recording soccer games?
For coaching analysis, recruiting, and consistent recording across a season, an AI camera is the clear answer. It covers the full pitch automatically, requires no operator, and uploads footage directly to a cloud platform where coaches and players can access it immediately.
The table below shows how the options compare:
For high school programs, a single Veo camera shared across multiple sports produces consistent footage for every team without requiring dedicated staff for each recording.
See how coaches use Veo across multiple sports in the same program.
Looking for the best post match analysis session?
Learn how to run a post-match video review session that improves performance.
FAQs
Veo's AI camera systems automatically track play from a fixed, elevated position, without the need for a camera operator. The coach sets up the camera before the match, presses record, and collects it afterwards. The footage covers the full match automatically.
The higher the better. Veo's small tripod reaches 5.2 m and the large tripod reaches 7.4 m. The large tripod is recommended for full-size pitches where capturing both penalty areas from the halfway line matters. Standard consumer tripods typically reach two to three metres, which limits pitch coverage significantly.
With manual recordings, transferring large video files can take several hours depending on file size and connection speed. With Veo, the recording uploads automatically once the camera is connected to the internet after the match. It is ready to watch in the Veo Editor soon after processing, depending on connection speed and the length of the video.
There are many good drills for football that you can do, depending on the skills you want to improve. Some examples include passing and receiving drills, shooting drills, dribbling drills, and footwork drills. It's important to choose drills that challenge you, but are also within your skill level so that you can gradually improve over time.
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