What is Video Scouting
The role of a football scout has evolved over the last few years with systems such as Scout7 and WyScout changing the way football clubs and agents identify talent, video scouting is now a big part of the game.
Wyscout is probably the most well know video scouting platform with a database of around 160,000 players that you can filter and get clips of players in an instant… but it comes at a price.
What is Video Scouting?
Video scouting is where a club will view clips and complete a stats analysis of a transfer target. Clubs regularly use platforms Wyscout or YouTube to watch clips of footballers all over the world and in Non-league football.
For a scout, this gives them the first look at a player when looking for new talent or a potential transfer target. Video scouting platforms allow scouts to search a wide range of stats and criteria such a height, position, pass completion and more.
Once the scout has found a list of possible players they can then compare the players with one another and watch individual highlights or full matches of each player. Video clips are marked with tags such as defence, shots of goal and corners to name a few, this enables the scout to instantly watch the highlights important to them and their clubs needs.
This makes it easier for a scout to highlight positives and negatives to heads of recruitment when doing reports and save a number of hours creating the clips themselves or watching a player that does not fit the requirements needed.
Which Video Software is Best for Me
There are now a large number of video scouting sites and software solutions out there, choosing the one for you comes down to what you need and budget. The table below outlines the main sites
Site |
Website |
| Wyscout | http://wyscout.com/ |
| InStat | https://new.instatscout.com/login |
| Opta | https://www.optasports.com/ |
| Nacsport | https://www.nacsport.com/index.php?lc=en-gb |
| Scout7 | https://isf.scout7.com/Apps/Login?ReturnUrl=%2F |
| ProZone | http://prozonesports.stats.com/ |
| Sports Code | http://sportstec.com |
| ID Swap | https://vidswap.com |
What Data is Collected by Video Scouting Software
Technology is continuously improving and as it does the stats collected by video scouting software improves with it.
Player (Pysical) |
Player (In Game) |
Player (Training) |
Player (Additional) |
Team |
| Weight | Average distance covered | Bleep test scores | Awards | Scores |
| Height | 1v1’s | Completed | Trophies won | Live Scores |
| Age (date of birth) | Penalties (taken/scored) | Personal records | Head to Head | |
| Nationality | Free kicks | Possession | ||
| Preferred foot | Corners | Line-ups | ||
| Number of cards | Squads | |||
| Minutes when goals scored | ||||
| Heat maps | ||||
| Possession | ||||
| Positions played | ||||
| Number of games | ||||
| Number of Goals | ||||
| Number of assists | ||||
| Number of clean sheets | ||||
All the above information can be viewed in numeric and graphical form with trend data line graphs and pie charts. Some site can provide 3D simulations, 360-degree visuals and player perspective visuals.
What Makes a Good Video Scout
Many scouts, academy scouts, head scouts, heads of recruitment and academy managers with use video and stats and a day to day basis and a dedicated video scout will in most cases have held one of those positions in the past.
A video scout should also have strong technical football knowledge and be excellent at manipulating online data that can be combined with real football knowledge.
An understanding of sports science and football coaching is also useful.
Does video Scouting work for Agents
In some ways, video scouting works better for agents. I would guess that most agents would take a chance on a player at Manchester United or Chelsea given the chance but what about players lower down the football pyramid.
Sites such as transfermarkt can provide valuable information on a players club and agent status, a word of caution though, this is not always correct but its a good place to start.
Is The Use of Technology a Good Thing for Scouts
Technology has opened a new world of opportunities for players as well as scouts.
Clubs with smaller player recruitment teams often ask to see a players video before sending a scout to watch them.
Michael Calvin the author of the best selling book and documentary, No Hunger In Paradise‘ said:
“There is a culture shift going on from the ‘old-school scout’, who went out and used his eyes to make subjective judgements, to the new style who are analysts and are scientifically and technology driven,”.
“They crunch the numbers. These guys are very well educated, invariably under 30 and they are becoming increasingly influential.
“About five years away from now, we will see a new breed of scout emerging. A lot of the guys crunching the numbers are brilliant in terms of IT but they don’t have that intuitive understanding of football. You will always need the old-school scout.”
Technology definitely has its place but for scouting to be effective you still need to see the player play so you can judge attributes like attitude and teamwork.
Video scouting should be used alongside watching a player to get a full view and give a more rounding assessment before signing.