Case study
SoFIFA
SoFIFA brings real-world football into FIFA Career Mode — powered by Sportmonks data
SoFIFA
SoFIFA brings real-world football into FIFA Career Mode — powered by Sportmonks data
SoFIFA
📌 Platform: SoFIFA
📌 Creator: Khachin Borjigin (solo developer, Career Mode enthusiast)
📌 Industry: Gaming meets real-world football data
📌 Goal: Enhance FIFA Career Mode with real-time, reliable player data
📌 Challenge: Keep a global player database accurate, fresh, and scalable — without a full data team
Back in 2007, SoFIFA started as one fan’s answer to a simple frustration:
Who are the hidden gems in FIFA Career Mode — and how do I find them without endless searching?
What began as a filtering tool for virtual scouts quickly grew into a global resource used by thousands. But as the platform scaled, so did the complexity: players transferring daily, clubs changing, stats evolving. Manual updates weren’t just unsustainable — they were holding SoFIFA back.
That’s when SoFIFA needed a data partner that could:
✔ Deliver trustworthy football data — every day, without fail
✔ Scale globally — from top-tier leagues to hidden gems in South America
✔ Keep it clean — with a consistent, developer-friendly API
✔ Sync in real-time — because outdated data kills user trust
With their structured Football API as the new foundation, SoFIFA could stop firefighting data problems and start building features that mattered. The result? A faster, smarter, and more reliable platform that bridges the gap between virtual football and the real world.
SoFIFA’s goal is to enhance the FIFA Career Mode experience by integrating real-world football data. By linking in-game data with actual player statistics, SoFIFA allows users to:
📌 Identify and evaluate players who may not yet be featured in the game.
📌 Validate in-game data against real-world information for accuracy.
📌 Provide a platform for gamers and modders to share insights and creative ideas.
This fusion of virtual and real-world data ensures that users have access to the most accurate and comprehensive information, enhancing their gaming experience.
In the early years, SoFIFA relied heavily on manual data collection, scraping player info from various unofficial sources. This often led to incomplete, outdated, or even conflicting data. Some players were missing entirely; others had incorrect ages, nationalities, or team affiliations.
One of the biggest challenges was keeping up with constant updates — especially during the transfer window or when new FIFA editions were released. Without a reliable source of truth, the platform spent more time correcting data than innovating new features.
The lack of structured data made automation difficult, leaving Khachin with a clear need: a clean, structured, and up-to-date football data feed that could be trusted at scale.
After testing several alternatives — including enterprise providers like OPTA and startups with niche coverage — SoFIFA found that Sportmonks offered the best combination of affordability, coverage, and developer usability.
Key deciding factors:
SoFIFA doesn’t need live match updates, minute-by-minute stats, or betting odds. Its value lies in being a stable, structured archive — helping Career Mode players dive deep into the football world behind the game. That means the focus is on foundational data, not live feeds.
We don’t need real-time events. What we need is structure. Sportmonks gives us a clean, stable framework we can build on without worrying about inconsistent naming or missing relationships.
Here’s what SoFIFA pulls from Sportmonks to bring realism to its database:
Since integrating Sportmonks, SoFIFA has:
✅ Eliminated manual data management
✅ Expanded to support more leagues and clubs
✅ Reduced time spent on bug-fixing and user reports
✅ Increased player trust with more accurate, up-to-date content
✅ Freed up time to build new features and UI improvements
Sportmonks gives us the structure, scale and accuracy to bring FIFA Career Mode closer to real football.
By letting Sportmonks handle the heavy lifting of global football data, SoFIFA can focus on what it does best: delivering insights that improve gameplay and immersion.
SoFIFA’s success shows that when you combine passion, community, and structured data, you can build something that grows far beyond its original scope.
With Sportmonks, we’ve built a more robust, scalable, and accurate platform — and our community notices it.
If you’re developing a football-related app, game, or tool — and want a trusted, affordable data partner — Sportmonks is ready to help you scale.
Start your own journey