GUIDES · BETSLIP DOCTOR
How do Opta progressive-pass and progressive-carry labels use different movement criteria?
Opta requires a progressive pass to be completed in the attacking two-thirds and move the ball at least 25% closer to goal. A carry starts at five metres; a progressive carry must move more than five metres upfield.
For Soccer fans, analysts and readers comparing passing and carrying metrics · Updated
A progressive pass has three stated conditions
Opta’s public definition requires a pass to be completed, occur in the attacking two-thirds of the pitch and move the ball at least 25% closer to the goal. Each condition matters. A forward pass does not qualify just because it travels toward goal if it is incomplete or outside the stated area.
The guide gives the threshold but does not explain coordinate precision or a universal calculation method for every display. Use the provider’s own stated measurement context rather than inventing a conversion.
The carry boundary is strict at five metres
Opta defines a carry as a player moving the ball at least five metres. Its progressive-carry definition is narrower: the carry must move more than five metres upfield. Exactly five metres can meet the basic carry wording, but it does not meet the progressive-carry threshold as written.
The carry measure is about the ball being moved by the player; the pass measure has its own completion, pitch-area and relative-progress conditions. Do not transfer the carry cutoff to a pass or the pass rule to a carry.
Compare the event type before comparing the total
When two tables report progressive movement, identify whether the row counts passes or carries. For passes, preserve completion, attacking-area and at-least-25-percent conditions. For carries, preserve the more-than-five-metres-upfield boundary. Opta’s public glossary does not specify coordinate rounding, so avoid implying precision the source does not provide.
A fictional pitch diagram at the boundary
For a transparent one-dimensional toy pitch, put the opposing goal at x=90 metres and attack toward increasing x; the attacking two-thirds begin at x=30. A pass starts at x=50, 40 metres from goal, and reaches a teammate at x=60, 30 metres from goal. If completed, it moved 10 of the original 40 metres closer, exactly 25%, and meets the pass wording. If an opponent touches an otherwise identical delivery before it reaches the teammate, it is incomplete and does not qualify. Now compare carries from x=50: moving exactly 5 metres to x=55 meets the basic carry threshold but not the progressive one; moving 5.2 metres to x=55.2 exceeds the progressive boundary. This simplified axis makes the example arithmetic explicit; it does not assert Opta's coordinate precision or calculation implementation.
Related questions
Does every forward Opta pass count as progressive?
No. The public definition also requires completion, location in the attacking two-thirds and movement at least 25% closer to goal.
Does a carry of exactly five metres count as progressive?
It meets Opta’s basic carry threshold of five metres or more, but the progressive-carry wording requires more than five metres upfield.