Seattle Reign Coach Uses ChatGPT for Soccer Tactics, Sparking Debate About AI in Professional Sports

Seattle Reign's Laura Harvey says ChatGPT inspired tactics: 'It said play a back five, so I did'

Harvey's Reign are fourth in the NWSL with one match left of the regular season. Steph Chambers / Getty Images Seattle Reign head coach Laura Harvey says she has leaned on artificial intelligence (AI) service ChatGPT to help inspire her tactics in the NWSL this season. The 45-year-old former Arsenal coach said she casually started testing the chatbot's women's soccer knowledge, before quizzing what ideas it might have for individual teams. "One day in the offseason, I was writing things into ChatGPT like, 'What is Seattle Reign's identity?' And it would spurt it out. And I was like 'I don't know if that's true or not,'" Harvey told the Soccerish Podcast. "And then I put in, 'What formation should you play to beat NWSL teams?' And it spurted out every team in the league and what formation you should play. And for two teams, it went 'You should play a back five.' So I did. No joke, that's why I did it." Harvey made the admission after being asked how she had evolved over the course of a two-decade coaching career, but she had never started playing a 'back five' of defenders until this season but her coaching team went on a "deep dive" to evaluate its benefits, with the tactical setup used on multiple occasions this term. "I'd never really done a lot of research on it," Harvey added of the formation. "I'd never really, like, invested into how it could be played in the women's game. I'd only ever really seen it from afar, you know, watching men's games really. "It was always sort of talked about as a way to see games out. You know, (you go ahead) and get into a back five and stop people from scoring, was sort of how, like, a back five had been talked about for me." With one match remaining in the regular season, the Reign are fourth in the 14-team NWSL, in a play-off spot, with 10 wins from 25 matches. This marks a vast improvement from last season, when they finished 13th. Harvey, who previously coached the Reign between 2013 and 2017, rejoined the club in 2021. The Brit has won three NWSL Shields with Seattle and The Women's Cup in 2022.

ChatGPT as a soccer advisor: Seattle Reign FC uses AI to develop winning defensive strategy

Generative AI has made its way onto the professional soccer field. Laura Harvey, head coach of Seattle Reign FC, said this week that ChatGPT helped her come up with a new defensive strategy. Speaking on the Soccerish Podcast, Harvey said she was curious if ChatGPT could answer questions about soccer. So she started prompting OpenAI's chatbot with questions about her team. At first, she asked broad questions like, "what is Seattle Reign's identity?" She didn't really love the answer. But then she asked: "What formation should you play to beat NWSL teams?" It then listed every team in the women's soccer professional league, with a suggested formation. And for two of the teams, it suggested "back-five," a defensive setup using five players in the backline. Harvey said she wasn't super familiar with the strategy and had not used it as a coach. She took the AI suggestion to her staff and did a deep dive on the potential change. "We liked it," Harvey said. "And it worked -- we won the game." Harvey, a three-time NWSL Coach of the Year, didn't reveal the opponent but said they were "really good." Now the team uses the formation as an option during matches. The Reign have improved since last season and are ranked fourth in the NWSL heading into the playoffs. It's a fascinating example of using AI as a tactical consultant, combining human expertise and intuition with machine suggestions. "It didn't tell you how to play it, what to do in it or any of that stuff," Harvey said on the podcast. "But it was like, 'This is what we would say to do.' And I was like, 'Hmm, interesting.' And that was what spurred me to look into it. So then I really looked into it." Across industries, professionals are treating tools such as ChatGPT as sounding boards -- running ideas by them, exploring scenarios, or pressure-testing strategies before making decisions. OpenAI's own research this year found that people increasingly rely on ChatGPT "as an advisor rather than only for task completion." "ChatGPT likely improves worker output by providing decision support, which is especially important in knowledge-intensive jobs where productivity is increasing in the quality of decision-making," according to the research.

Could your favorite soccer team be using ChatGPT for tactics? One pro coach has publicly admitted they have

The Reign have qualified for the NWSL Playoffs starting next month Would you be shocked to hear your favorite sports team's head coach admit they used ChatGPT for tactical help? Well, that's what's happened with NWSL (National Women's Soccer League) team Seattle Reign. The Reign's manager, Laura Harvey, speaking on the Soccerish Podcast, admitted publicly that she asked ChatGPT for tactical advice, and when the AI told her to try a back five (5-defender) formation, she did just that. Harvey said, "One day in the off-season, I was writing things into ChatGPT like, 'What is Seattle Reign's identity?' And it would spurt it out. And I was like 'I don't know if that's true or not.'" She added, "And then I put in, 'What formation should you play to beat NWSL teams?' and it spurted out every team in the league and what formation you should play. And for two teams, it went, 'You should play a back five.' So I did. No joke, that's why I did it." It's a wild admission from a professional coach, especially considering how highly esteemed those who make decisions in our favorite organizations are. While Harvey never said which teams she used ChatGPT's tactical advice for, the Seattle Reign used a five-at-the-back formation in a loss against Orlando Pride in April this year. Seattle Reign are currently sitting in fourth in the NSWL and are aiming to recreate that success in the playoffs, which are set to start in November. As a massive sports fan, I honestly find this admission baffling. My honest take would be it's either a publicity stunt to bring attention to the NWSL and Seattle Reign, or Laura Harvey is just happy to take criticism about her practices as a head coach. Considering the wages paid to any pro athlete in comparison to those of us working in standard office jobs, it's crazy to think that someone would use ChatGPT to help make sporting decisions. With so much riding on the line, entrusting AI to make tactical choices, without real analysis, is baffling, and a stark contrast from the deep research you'd expect most head coaches would put the time into conducting. I'm not saying AI doesn't have its place in the world of sport, and with so much data taken into account when making decisions, it can absolutely play its part. But asking ChatGPT what tactics to play in a professional sports setting is almost a sackable offense, showcasing a lack of knowledge, really, and a lack of self-awareness to admit to it publicly. Using ChatGPT to help win a game in Football Manager 2026 is one thing; using it to hoist the NWSL trophy is another. That said, if ChatGPT can help you become a professional soccer coach now, maybe my dream job is a possibility.

How Seattle Reign's coach uses ChatGPT to win games

The Seattle Reign FC currently sits fourth in the National Women's Soccer League as it looks toward November's playoffs season, a marked improvement from last year's 13th-place finish. One potential reason for the drastic change? ChatGPT. Head coach Laura Harvey turned to the artificial intelligence (AI) technology on a whim for tactical advice and was pleasantly surprised by what it gave. "I was like, 'I wonder if ChatGPT could give you information about [soccer], and it would be beneficial,'" Harvey said on the Soccerish podcast Thursday. "One day in the offseason, I was writing things into ChatGPT ... and then I put in, 'What formation should you play to beat NWSL teams?' It spurt out every team in the league and what formation [they] should play. And for two teams, I won't say who they are, it said 'You should play a back-five [defense],' so I did. No joke, that's why I did it." The former Arsenal coach had limited experience with five-defender tactics, using them exclusively in end-of-game scenarios when trying to run out the clock and prevent the other team from scoring. ChatGPT, however, spurred her to investigate the possibility of using the formation in traditional settings. "[My staff and I] researched it," Harvey said. "We did a deep dive on it and thought about how we could play it. We went for it, and we liked it. It worked. We won the game." The Reign has used the back-five formation several times this season, which Harvey believes is one of the reasons her team is so unpredictable and dangerous. "We've obviously come in and out of [the formation]," Harvey said. "We played it tons, then we came out of it, and then we went back into it. And now we're quite fluid actually. We can float in and out of it within games. "I hear coaches say, 'We don't know what you're going to do. You're the hardest team to prepare for. You defend in multiple ways in games,'" she added. "I want everyone to not have a clue what we're going to do." The NWSL postseason kicks off Nov. 7. Should the Reign go far, ChatGPT may just become the hottest contributor in tactical meetings.

NWSL coach Laura Harvey says she asked AI about soccer tactics, used response to try new formation - CBS Sports

Artificial intelligence has apparently found its way into the National Women's Soccer League. Seattle Reign head coach Laura Harvey recently revealed that she used ChatGPT out of interest and to test its women's soccer knowledge, while also using a prompt for tactical ideas on how to compete against other teams in the NWSL. Speaking on the "Soccerish Podcast," the most veteran coach in the league spoke about how she engaged with the technology over the course of the offseason, using different questions that ranged from a general standpoint to more specific formative prompts. "One day in the offseason, I was writing things into ChatGPT like, 'What is Seattle Reign's identity?' And it would spurt it out. And I was like 'I don't know if that's true or not,'" she said. "And then I put in, 'What formation should you play to beat NWSL teams?' And it spurted out every team in the league and what formation you should play. And for two teams, it went 'You should play a back five.' So I did. No joke, that's why I did it." The tactical conversation came about after Harvey was asked how she's evolved on or off the pitch as a coach, and the Reign manager mentioned she'd never coached a back five until this year. "I'd never really done a lot of research on it. I'd never really, like, invested into how it could be played in the women's game. I'd only ever really seen it from afar, you know, watching men's games really," Harvey said on the podcast. "It was always sort of talked about as a way to see games out. You know, [you go ahead] and get into a back five and stop people from scoring, was sort of how, like, a back five had been talked about for me." She went on to explain that the unorthodox method came later, while using the AI technology, after delivering questionable information about the club itself. That's Harvey then got more specific in the prompts. While Harvey didn't give specific details about what the AI's response gave, she did key in on the fact that a back-five formation was suggested for two specific teams. A quick search, first round by Kim McCauley, shows that they played with five in the back in a 1-0 loss against Orlando Pride in April. Another significant five back moment against a top squad was an early match in May against Kansas City Current, where the Reign won, 1-0. "It was early in the season. And I said to the coaching staff, 'I'm not joking, this is what I did.' And they were like, 'Huh, interesting,'" she recounted. "We researched it. We did a deep dive on it. We thought about how we could play it, and we went for it, and we liked it. It worked. We won the game." Later in the season, the Reign lost to Kansas City 2-0, and the Current clinched the 2025 NWSL Shield. In fairness to Harvey, they started the game with three in the back that day. While Harvey may have used the technology out of curiosity and for general brainstorming, there's still the part of actually executing the ideas. With Harvey emphasizing that ChatGPT 'didn't tell you how to play it, what to do in it, or any of that stuff," but just the presentation of the idea sparked enough interest in her to bring it to her coaching staff. The Reign have since used the five-back model in several of their games this season while also implementing a three-back or standard four-back formation. While it hasn't made the team the most threatening in front of goal, it has made them a frustrating side to play against, and their record was enough this year to clinch them a playoff spot. What final seeding they'll be will depend on the final regular-season match day, as they're currently in fourth place. The irony of the Reign's NWSL Decision Day match is that it is against third-place Orlando Pride, and the two teams are still in contention for the honor to host a playoff match. Whoever is the winner between the two could potentially secure third place, while the loser could end as low as a seventh seed, pending results across the league. Though no matter the playoff position, Harvey is confident in her team's ability to adjust and adapt. It's been their big strength this season despite the lack of goal scoring. "We've obviously come in and out of it. We played it tons, then we came out of it, and then we went back into it. And now we're quite, like, fluid actually. We can float in and out of it within games. And I love that," said Harvey. "When I hear coaches saying, 'We don't know what you're going to do, you're the hardest team to prepare for. Defend. You defend in multiple ways in games.' I'm just like [fist pumping] that, I want everyone to not have a clue what we're going to do. I think that is, like, amazing." So now that the regular season is almost over, with just one game remaining with Decision Day on Sunday, what does ChatGPT have to say about Seattle Reign's identity now? For starters, it says a whole lot, including outdated information and multiple references to its old name, OL Reign, under previous ownership, OL Groupe, and that it has attracted some of the best international players, "such as Megan Rapinoe, Jess Fishlock, and Lydia Williams." Former U.S women's national team star Rapinoe retired in 2023. So, has Williams, who also left the club in 2019. It also references the Reign's playing style as "fast and possession-based," which, considering the AI suggested a five-back to Harvey earlier this year, is the complete opposite of how they have played this season.