1. The Data Gap Between Men’s and Women’s Sport 

The collection of health data in elite sport can allow organisations and athletes to realise both operational and sporting benefits across areas such as performance analytics, load management, and player recruitment. Real world accounts of constructing and implementing data-driven models such as Michael Lewis’ ‘Moneyball’ and Dr Ian Graham’s ‘How to Win the Premier League’ prove that data collection and analytics can significantly improve sporting performance at the elite level. 

Whilst the sporting and financial gains enjoyed by data-driven organisations have set a trend for the mass integration of data science across sporting organisations, the significant gap between the level of study conducted between male and female athletes presents difficulties in realising the benefits of this integration in women’s sport. 

A 2024 audit of 937 sports science studies found that only 4% of studies researched female-only cohorts, compared to 79% of studies that focused on male-only cohorts, and only 2% of studies included a methodology to account for the differences between men and women.

Research illustrates a widespread consensus that the inherent physiological and neurological differences between the sexes influences athletic performance. As a result, female athletes’ preparation and recovery - even at the very elite level - is often based on data that is optimised for male performance and recovery, failing to account for female-specific muscle composition, hormones, and health needs. Therefore, for women’s sport to reap the benefits of data integration, more specific data needs to be collected on women’s sport.

However, the journey to this data collection should not be started without deep consideration of what data should be collected, and how it would be used for taking decisions about individuals or in wider research. Bird & Bird can assist sporting organisations with developing and implementing effective and legally compliant data collection strategies.

2. Bridging the Data Gap

The data gap will likely only shorten when more female athletes are substantially involved in data collection. The solution appears to be two-fold: first, sports science research should seek out more female involvement; second, greater engagement from elite female athletes in data collection may also help to bridge the gap.

In order to effectively incentivise female athlete engagement in data collection, athletes need to receive valuable output from that data collection. To produce valuable output, insights must be grounded in female-specific sports research, which is currently lacking. Not only is there a gap between female and male athlete data, female data itself is not always reflective of the athletes themselves. For example, most post-partum data for elite athletes focus on married athletes from Western countries, with limited literature on LGBTQIA+ athletes, para-athletes, and those from non-Western backgrounds. The UK Centre of Excellence for Women’s Sport highlights that the support of academic institutions and tech startups is vital to help athletes, coaches and practitioners increase their knowledge of female-specific physiology. The Centre of Excellence aims to collect expertise from multiple fields in order to improve knowledge specific to Women’s Sport and circulate the resources in an effective way. The method of delivery of this reliable information is also crucial as it must compete with a wide range of digital sources and social media platforms, where unreliable information may be easily spread.

In order to effectively bridge the data gap, there should also be a focus on collecting data from younger female athletes. Data plays a crucial role in supporting younger female athletes entering elite sports by informing training programs that accommodate their unique growth and maturation processes before, during, and after puberty. By collecting and analysing data on physiological factors like growth patterns, menstrual cycles, and maturation status, coaches and medical professionals can tailor training regimens to individual needs, optimising performance while reducing long-term injury risk. This data-driven approach can enhance athletic development and addresses specific challenges faced by young girls in elite sports by considering the long-term effects of female hormones across their competitive lifespan and beyond.

Direct Data Collection from Female Athletes 

Effective direct data collection from athletes, including hormonal tracking, can compensate for the limitations caused by the data gap in sports research. Menstrual cycle tracking is currently used to optimise performance due to hormonal fluctuations impacting physical and mental states. Understanding symptoms throughout the cycle allows for bespoke training and recovery. 

For example, the Wales Women's rugby team and Vodafone have incorporated menstrual cycle and concussion tracking into their PLAYER.Connect platform. This enables analysis of how the menstrual cycle impacts performance, wellbeing, and recovery, and its influence on concussion and recovery. By linking performance data to cycle phases, coaches can provide bespoke plans beyond a strict research environment. 

Performance data collection for female athletes differs due to physiological differences from male athletes. Wearable devices like Oura Ring and Whoop detect subtle changes in body temperature and physiological markers, providing accurate information on female athletes' cycles and overall health. However, concerns exist about data privacy and potential misuse of sensitive health data collected through these devices. 

Significant barriers exist in data collection for hormone profiling across the entire menstrual cycle. While apps and wearables provide data from self-reported symptoms or external vitals, they do not equate to understanding the full hormonal profile during data collection. This is important as female athletes face higher risks of certain injuries, including ACL tears, which are associated with anatomical and hormonal differences. However, the lack of standardisation in pre-participation examinations and injury surveillance systems for female athletes makes it challenging to collect appropriate data for evidence-informed care. 

How Organisations are Addressing the Data Gap 

Though the data gap still exists, governing bodies and clubs increasingly recognise the need to address the data gap and unique needs of female athletes. Examples of this are:

• The Women’s Super League, Women’s Championship and The Well HQ have implemented menstrual cycle tracking and other female-specific health initiatives. The aim is to enhance performance and support female athletes by educating players and staff, creating a 'best in class' approach to female-specific health in professional women's football. 
• The US-based National Women's Soccer League has partnered with Kitman Labs to provide teams with a centralised operating system that aggregates all players’ medical data. This eliminates gaps and inconsistencies, aiding in the development of tailored care and performance strategies. 
• The Rugby Football Union (RFU), Premiership Rugby, and Premiership Women's Rugby have partnered with Catapult to enhance player performance through wearable data collection devices. Both men's and women's teams use the Elite Vests, with versions optimised for each; the women's vest has improved sensor placement for enhanced heart rate signal quality in data collection. 

3. Navigating Data Protection and Regulatory Challenges

 Data Protection Legislation

The data gap means that using current research to gain insights for female athletes has limited utility. Collecting data directly from female athletes presents a potential solution for organisations looking to take advantage of the benefits of data integration in sport. Direct data collection from female athletes, especially hormone tracking, can be successful in improving performance. However, this direct collection approach may also lead to data protection and regulatory challenges that need to be carefully navigated. 

As with any data collection, companies and governing bodies wanting to help bridge the data gap must comply with data protection principles under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (the UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 as recently amended by the Data (Use & Access) Act 2025. Where the sporting body qualifies as a controller under the UK GDPR, it is subject to the accountability principle, meaning it must be able to demonstrate compliance with data protection rules. 

Under the lawfulness principle, any processing of athletes’ personal data must have a lawful basis, the most relevant being consent from the athlete, a contractual obligation that means that data collection is necessary for the organisation to fulfil a contract, or the sporting body’s legitimate interests. Where a data processor is involved, it must have a contractual relationship with the controller outlining the subject matter, duration and purpose of processing, the categories of personal data and data subjects, and respective obligations and rights of the parties. Sporting bodies should also be mindful of data subject rights, including (amongst others) the right to access, delete or correct any personal data held about them.

Health data, such as information tracking menstrual cycles or breast health, is deemed a special category of personal data and requires additional safeguards under the UK GDPR. In many circumstances, explicit consent from the athlete is necessary before such data can be collected, and organisations must limit collection to only what is strictly necessary for the stated purposes. There are also limitations on data sharing and specific rules governing how it can be processed. An exception to this is research. This exception allows for the processing of health data for scientific research, which is in the public interest and provided that (i) the processing is not used to take decisions or measures about particular participants; (ii) is not likely to cause substantial damage or distress to a participant; and (iii) involved de-identified data wherever the research purpose can be achieved in this way.

Consent would still be advisable for ethical reasons and to address confidentiality requirements. However, it can often be helpful not to rely on consent for GDPR purposes. In particular, if consent is withdrawn, then data would usually need to be deleted, which could undermine the efficacy and reliability of the research. 

While scientific research and other exceptions - such as where the data is processed for occupational medicine, medical diagnosis or assessing the working capacity of an employee – are valid, it may be difficult to use these exemptions to address the broader data gap, rather than focusing on the specific treatment of an individual athlete.

A core purpose of data protection laws is to protect individuals from being inappropriately identified through their data. For elite athletes, this can prove especially challenging given the small number of elite athletes globally, which heightens the risk of identification. If sporting bodies fail to apply adequate security measures (for example, encryption, access controls, and comprehensive security protocols), they risk data breaches that can lead to serious legal consequences, financial penalties and reputational harm for the organisations involved. Using third-party service providers, such as menstrual tracking apps, introduces additional risks. Sporting bodies should therefore implement robust technical and organisational measures to protect personal data. 

Other Regulatory Challenges

Sporting bodies must comply not only with the UK GDPR but also with other relevant legal frameworks. For example, where health data is collected in the context of an athlete’s healthcare or treatment, the common law duty of confidentiality must be considered for any subsequent disclosure or use of that data. This makes it difficult to reuse that data for research without seeking the explicit consent of each athlete.

In the context of apps, wearable technologies and software, an important consideration is whether a product qualifies as a medical device under the applicable regulations. This is particularly relevant where sporting bodies might develop this technology in-house. If the technologies qualify as medical devices, they must comply with strict regulatory requirements – including certain data governance requirements - before they can be used. It is important to note that whilst wearable devices such as smartwatches and fitness trackers may collect health-related data, they may not necessarily be classified as medical devices under applicable law. This would be a holistic factual assessment based on the intention of the manufacturer and whether or not the technology has a ‘medical’ purpose. If the technology does constitute a medical device, manufacturers of such devices are, from a data perspective, obligated to collect continuously and analyse data on device performance and safety, including user feedback, incident reports, and global data, to ensure ongoing compliance and improvement.

If you are interested in helping to close the data gap, please contact Emma Drake and Max Gross (Data Protection) or Pieter Erasmus (Life Sciences and Healthcare Regulatory) to assist with navigating the legislative and regulatory challenges for data collection and processing. If involved early, Bird & Bird can help to build a strategy of approach, review contracts with third party researchers, review privacy notices and new tools, and identify the correct lawful and regulatory requirements for the anticipated use of collected data.