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What is a live football data API?
A live football data API is an application programming interface that delivers real-time information about football matches. It allows developers to integrate dynamic and up-to-the-minute data such as live scores, goals, cards, substitutions, player and team statistics, fixtures, and league standings directly into their applications. This enables fans, businesses, and analysts to access and utilise the latest football updates as they happen.
Features of a live football data API
Live football data APIs offer many features to support apps for fans, businesses, and developers. These tools give both real-time and past data to keep apps useful and exciting.
Real-time updates
These APIs give instant updates on match events like goals, cards, substitutions, and final scores—often within 15 seconds. This speed can be faster than live TV, helping apps deliver timely updates.
Comprehensive coverage
They include data from many football events, from big tournaments like the World Cup and Champions League to smaller leagues. Sportmonks cover more than 2,500 leagues around the world.
Several data types
Live football APIs offer a range of useful information:
– Fixtures and schedules: Upcoming matches and start times.
– Player and team stats: Goals, assists, pass success, fouls, and more.
– Match events: Logs of key actions during matches.
– League standings: Current team rankings and points.
– Historical results: Past matches and seasonal performance.
– Odds and predictions: Betting data and match outcome forecasts.
– Extras: Referee stats, team lineups, formations, and news updates.
Flexible data requests
APIs let developers request only the data they need. They can filter by league, team, match, or event type. Data is often returned in JSON format, making it easy to use with most programming tools.
Add-on features
Some APIs offer extras like:
– Prediction models for betting or match outcomes.
– Fantasy football scoring.
– Widgets to display live scores or stats on websites easily.
These features make football APIs useful for betting sites, fan apps, games, and more.
Simple overview of Sportmonks football API
Sportmonks is a leading sports data provider renowned for delivering high-quality, reliable, and comprehensive football data trusted by sports teams, media outlets, betting platforms, and developers worldwide. Our football API is a robust solution designed to power applications with real-time and historical football data. Founded to simplify access to sports data, Sportmonks has grown into a trusted partner for businesses and developers, offering unparalleled coverage and precision. Here’s an expanded look at what it offers:
About Sportmonks
Sportmonks focuses on delivering sports data, mainly for football, but also for cricket and Formula 1. We serve both small and large businesses with fast and accurate data, supported by strong customer service.
Coverage and Accuracy
– Covers over 2,200 football leagues around the world.
– Includes top events like the Premier League, Champions League, and World Cup.
– High accuracy is ensured through data partners, scouts, and smart technology.
Key features
– Live data: Real-time scores, goals, cards, VAR decisions, and substitutions.
– Match info: Fixtures, schedules, past match results.
– Stats: Player goals, assists, team rankings, line-ups, formations.
– Odds & predictions: Live and pre-match betting data, outcome forecasts.
– Extras: Referee stats, news, coach info, and advanced data like average goal times.
– Add-ons: Prediction API, News API, and Widgets for easy data use.
– Flexible setup: Developers can filter and sort the data they need, returned in JSON format.
Pricing plans
– Free plan: Includes leagues like the Danish Superliga and Scottish Premiership.
– European plan: €39/month (€34/month if billed yearly) for major European leagues.
– Worldwide plan: €129/month (€112/month yearly) for global coverage.
– Enterprise plan: Custom pricing for bigger needs.
All plans offer strong uptime and are carefully monitored during busy match times.
Developer-friendly
– Easy to use with REST API design.
– Comes with full documentation, Postman tools, and code libraries.
– Works well for small apps and large systems alike.
– Quick and helpful support for developers.
Sportmonks football API is a powerful and flexible option for anyone needing up-to-date football data in their apps or platforms.
Using the Sportmonks football API
Sportmonks’ Football API is easy to set up and lets developers access real-time football data from over 2,200 leagues. Here’s a simple guide to get started, especially for using the live scores feature.
Getting started
– Sign up: Create an account on MySportmonks to get your API token.
– API format: The API uses REST and returns data in JSON format over HTTPS.
– Docs and testing: The Sportmonks documentation shows how to use the API. A ready-to-use Postman collection is also available for testing the endpoints.
Authentication
– You need to include your API token in every request.
– Best practice: Put it in the Authorization header like this:
Authorization: YOUR_TOKEN
– This keeps your requests more secure than using query strings.
Making requests
Sportmonks offers many endpoints like leagues, fixtures, and live events. The livescores endpoint is great for real-time match data:
– GET all inplay livescores: Shows matches that are currently in progress.
– GET all livescores: Includes matches from 15 minutes before to after kickoff.
– GET latest updated livescores: Shows updates from the last 10 seconds.
You can also:
– Filter by league
– Include related data like scores or match events
– Filter by event type, such as goals or red cards
Example 1: Retrieving all leagues
This example fetches a list of available football leagues:
const API_TOKEN = 'your_api_token_here';
const url = 'https://api.sportmonks.com/v3/football/leagues';
fetch(url, {
headers: {
'Authorization': API_TOKEN
}
})
.then(response => {
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`Error: ${response.status} - ${response.statusText}`);
return response.json();
})
.then(data => console.log('Available Leagues:', data.data))
.catch(error => console.error(error.message));
Example 2: Fetching In-play livescores
This example retrieves all in-play matches with scores and events (e.g., goals, cards):
const API_TOKEN = 'your_api_token_here';
const url = 'https://api.sportmonks.com/v3/football/livescores/inplay?include=scores;events&filters=eventTypes:14,19,20,21';
fetch(url, {
headers: {
'Authorization': API_TOKEN
}
})
.then(response => {
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`Error: ${response.status} - ${response.statusText}`);
return response.json();
})
.then(data => console.log('In-play Livescores:', data.data))
.catch(error => console.error(error.message));
The filters=eventTypes:14,19,20,21 parameter limits events to goals (14), yellow cards (19), red cards (20), and yellow-red cards (21), ideal for live scoreboards.
Live data features
The livescores endpoint supports many includes like scores, events, lineups, statistics, odds, and ballCoordinates.
– For example, adding ?include=ballCoordinates gives you real-time ball location data—useful for visual tools.
– Updates are typically delivered in under 15 seconds, often quicker than live TV.
– Only verified data is published, with 24/7 verification for accuracy.
Rate limits and reliability
– You can make up to 3,000 calls per entity per hour (depending on the plan). This resets every hour.
– If you go over the limit, you’ll get a 429 error.
– It’s best to plan and optimise your requests, especially for live match tracking.
– Sportmonks maintains near 100% uptime, even during busy match hours, with active monitoring.
Developer support
– Sportmonks provides detailed documentation and fast support. You can reach them at [email protected].
– Common error codes help with debugging:
– 401: Unauthorised (check your token)
– 429: Rate limit exceeded
– Postman integration helps you test and build faster.
Explore Sportmonks’ live football stats today
Dive into the world of football with the Sportmonks football API. Access a wealth of real-time and historical stats, from live scores and goals to player assists and team possession, across over 2,500 leagues worldwide. Whether you’re building a fan app, powering a betting platform, or analysing match trends, our comprehensive data has you covered. Sign up for a free trial at Sportmonks Football API and start exploring our extensive stats library today.
FAQs about live football data API
- Sign up at MySportmonks to get your API token.
- Authenticate each request using the Authorization header.
- Choose your endpoint, such as /livescores/inplay to get current match updates.
- Use filters to request specific data (e.g., events like goals or cards).
- Integrate with tools like Postman for testing and debugging. Data is returned in JSON format and updated in near real-time, typically within 15 seconds. Rate limits apply, with up to 3,000 calls per hour depending on your subscription plan.
