Member Article

World first talent identification platform supports Burnley FC in new search for Academy and Women's first team players

Talent identification platform AiSCOUT, which uses artificial intelligence to identify the next generation of football stars, has today announced the continuation of its relationship with Burnley F.C.

AiSCOUT’s revolutionary player app is now giving women and girls nationally the opportunity to enter the Burnley FC Women’s virtual trials. The most talented candidates analysed by the AiSCOUT platform, will then be invited to a location-based trial with the Burnley FC Women’s first team.

The next phase of the relationship between the AiSCOUT and Burnley FC also sees the reopening of trials for boys aged 8-15 years old and young men aged 16-21+, providing a unique opportunity to join Burnley FC’s academy teams. This comes after last year’s global launch revealed the massive potential of the AiSCOUT platform, with 28 players identified and invited to participate in trials with the club.

The latest trial phase is open for men globally and for boys living within a 90-minute radius of the club’s training facility. Players can be selected to attend an in-person trial at any point during this time frame, so they are urged to download the AiSCOUT player app and enter the virtual trials as soon as possible.

AiSCOUT is a platform that has been developed by industry leading experts in data, talent identification and artificial intelligence, with the assistance of professional football clubs. The app enables footballers to undertake specific football drills carried out in their own location and filmed using a mobile phone. These drills can then be compared against other players using the app’s AI capabilities, enabling scouts to find, analyse, score, rate, benchmark and identify players’ technical, athletic, cognitive and psychometric ability.

Since its launch, AiSCOUT has amassed circa 21,000 users and has identified 45 amateur players that have gone on to have trials or sign with professional clubs and be selected for national squads.

AiSCOUT user and trialist, Archie O’Brien, said:

“Being scouted is so hard usually, as you have to have a great game the exact week that a scout is watching. Thanks to AiSCOUT, clubs as big as Burnley FC are trialling players through their own videos and the data they upload and generate, making it much easier for players like myself to show clubs and scouts their best.”

Alan Pace, Chairman of Burnley F.C. said:

“This is another fantastic opportunity for us to identify and unearth exciting local talent, using the cutting-edge data-led technology that AiSCOUT provides. I’m especially delighted that we’re now opening this up to women and girls to continue to grow our football offering for women in the local area and nationally.

“Over the last year, the platform has been an invaluable tool for our Academy staff to continually evaluate data and select players for trials. Thanks to the app’s extensive AI capabilities, we are able to look for different positions, metrics and types of players depending on the needs at the time.

“We look forward to this next phase and further expansion plans that are in the pipeline throughout 2022.”

Darren Peries, Founder & CEO of AiSCOUT said:

“Burnley F.C. were the first Premier League club to undertake open, public trials via the AiSCOUT app following our launch last year and we’re thrilled to continue our journey with the club.

“We’re excited by the revolutionary capabilities of the platform and hope this next phase can help to unearth more hidden talent across the North-West and beyond.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Peter Callahan .