AiScout: Top football clubs use mobile app to find future stars

London
CNN
—

A London-based technology company is seeking to “democratize” the identification and sourcing of football talent using a mobile app.

Free to download and available worldwide, the aiScout app allows aspiring soccer stars to take part in virtual tryouts for professional clubs by uploading self-recorded footage of themselves performing a series of exercises. It offers 75 exercises, designed to test a range of skills, with videos showing users how to perform them.

Performance is automatically scored by artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Clubs can then access the data, allowing their scouts to browse the scores of viable talent, refining their search with a variety of filters; from age and gender to position on the field.

The app currently has two English Premier League (EPL) partners, Chelsea and Burnley, and clubs can tailor their in-app trials to meet specific needs and establish their own academy credentials. the players perform the same exercises.

“We’re putting this data forward to make better use of (scouts’) time,” said Richard Felton-Thomas, chief operating officer of ai.io, the company behind the app.

“Saying (to scouts): ‘Go to this place today because there are three players in this game who are all beating your Chelsea standard’ – that will be the best use of your time.'”

This already seems to be working for some. Ben Greenwood had never had a trial with a professional club until he downloaded the app in 2019. After uploading images of himself, the 17-year-old landed a trial with Chelsea, becoming the first user of the app to get a trial with a professional club. He signed a contract with EPL side Bournemouth in 2021.

After beta testing with players in 125 countries, including Greenwood, 135 players have been tested or signed by professional clubs or national teams through the app – which was fully launched in September 2023 – according to Felton-Thomas.

Just over 100,000 players make up the current database, but with more than 100 clubs lined up to join Chelsea and Burnley, as well as a multi-year partnership with Major League Soccer in the United States announced last May, Felton-Thomas expects the number of users to reach several million as the operation ramps up this year.

Felton-Thomas said the “lion’s share” of its revenue came from charging clubs licensing fees to run the platform. Annual fees vary depending on the size of the club and the tools they require, ranging from six figures for “first tier” teams like Chelsea, to thousands of pounds for clubs lower down the football pyramid.

The use of smart technologies in sport continues to grow, including AI Feedback Tools and wearable technology for elite athletes. The global sports analytics market, valued at $2.7 billion in 2023, is expected to grow 22% by the end of the decade, according to market research firm Grand View Research.

Should football talent scouts fear being marginalized by the arrival of AI in their sector? For Felton-Thomas, new technologies can coexist with traditional methods.

“It’s more of an evolution than a revolution,” Felton-Thomas said.

“We can’t tell you when this player actually participates in this match, how does he deal with adversity? What happens when he’s down 2-0? What happens when someone shouts at him? What happens when he’s just made a big mistake?”

“We have the ability to just augment real people to do their job better and faster, which then gives an opportunity to the player through the AI, but you’re still just connecting them to the human on the other side, which is the club and the scout.”

Although football remains ai.io’s main focus, the company is exploring launch opportunities in other sports in the coming years. Further, it could extend beyond sport.

“You think about the idea that you can be at home and analyze your movements, and how that could translate to health care, physical assessments for military disciplines and emergency services,” Felton-Thomas told CNN.