A Northern-Ireland based data and technology company has scored a lucrative partnership to provide China's national soccer teams with performance-tracking systems.

Described as a "landmark partnership", the deal between STATSports and the Chinese Football Association is seen as part of China's push toward hosting and winning a World Cup by 2050.

Over the past few years, China has poured in substantial funds into the sport in a bid to have more than 50 million citizens playing soccer by 2020.

President Xi Jinping, a soccer enthusiast, wants the country to compete at the highest level and to have at least 20,000 soccer training centers and 70,000 pitches in place within two years.

STATSports' Apex tracking units monitor each athlete's performance during practice sessions and games. It also provides direct and invaluable real-time feedback to coaching staff and players.

The high-resolution units measure physical metrics including distance, speed, acceleration, deceleration, high-speed running, load, and heart rate.

The technology will also observe the players' level of fatigue and injury risk.

The Chinese Football Association said the Apex system had provided the most accurate data feedback, allowing its staff the "most in-depth insights into our athletes' performance at all levels of the association".

"We are looking to improve our on-field performance of our national teams. We identified GPS player tracking technology as a crucial factor in facilitating this improvement," said Du Lido, head of national team performance at the Chinese Football Association.

Jarlath Quinn, STATSports head of global strategy, said: "Chinese football has received a great deal of coverage over the last couple of years and has made significant investments to ensure they can compete at the highest level in years to come."

The Northern-Irish company is also behind player tracker devices fitted to training vests used in sporting organizations across the English Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and in American football and basketball.

Earlier this year STATSports signed deals with US Soccer and the Brazillian Football Confederation.