Brighton student wins global prize with AI-powered platform which predicts injuries for elite athletes

Abdulmalik Alshamari, a first-year international student on the Software Engineering BSc(Hons) programme, developed Champions Hub, a web-based platform that uses open-access player data and a custom-built algorithm to predict injury risks with over 80% accuracy. The system analyses nine key metrics—including fatigue, workload, recovery, and training load—to detect early warning signs of injury.

Even in its development phase, the platform has shown remarkable predictive power. It correctly forecast a 71% injury risk for Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus just eight days before his season-ending injury in January. It also accurately predicted injuries for Real Madrid defenders Dani Carvajal and Éder Militão just four days before they occurred.

Abdulmalik poses with his prize cheque

Over the past four seasons, clubs in Europe’s top five football leagues have suffered more than 14,000 injuries, costing an estimated €2.3 billion. Champions Hub aims to reduce these losses by helping teams proactively manage player health.

Abdulmalik’s innovation recently won second place for sustainability at the prestigious AI League, a global sports tech challenge featuring over 1,800 participants from 20 countries and more than 600 advanced submissions. Abdulmalik, who moved from Saudi Arabia to Brighton to study his degree, was awarded 100,000 SAR (approximately £21,000) to further develop the platform.

“This platform isn’t just about technology—it’s about protecting athletes, saving clubs money, and using AI for good,” said Abdulmalik.

“Since arriving in Brighton, I’ve felt empowered not just as a student, but as a solution builder. The support and environment here have helped me turn an idea into a global solution.”

Jennie Harding, Senior Lecturer and Course Leader of Software Engineering at the University of Brighton, praised Abdulmalik’s achievement: “These are the kind of practical, real-world problems that we love to see students thinking about and helping to solve. At Brighton, we are proud to develop students who will tackle global challenges through technology. What Abdulmalik has achieved in just his first year in the university is nothing short of remarkable and we’re excited to see what he does next.”

The AI League hackathon was organised by the Saudi Company for Artificial Intelligence and the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority, with support from the Saudi Ministry of Sport, Tuwaiq Academy, and SURJ Sports Investment.

Abdulmalik hopes to pilot his platform with professional teams in the Europe across the world, especially the Middle East where he’s from.