AI scouting apps help Brazilian youth players reach pro clubs

In short: In Brazil, football scouting apps that use artificial intelligence are being used at large scale to review player videos and connect young players with professional clubs.

What's going on

Young footballers in Brazil are increasingly using phone apps to upload match clips and skills videos in hopes of getting noticed by clubs. The apps use artificial intelligence, meaning software that learns patterns from lots of examples, to score things like ball control, speed, and technique (like a very fast video reviewer that follows a consistent checklist).

One example is Footbao, a startup that launched in Brazil with an app where players can upload videos from anywhere in the country. Footbao says its platform mixes AI scores, data analysis, and reviews from human experts before recommending players to partner clubs. Brazil is a key test because the country is huge, and clubs cannot easily send scouts to every region.

Footbao reports it has about 120,000 players on the platform. It says around 20,000 profiles include videos, about 14,000 players have been evaluated, and more than 300 players have been recommended to clubs. Basic access is free, and players can pay for more detailed individual reports and improvement tips.

These apps are often promoted as a way to “democratise” recruitment. The idea is to give players outside famous academies and big cities a clearer path to being seen, instead of relying only on local contacts or in-person tryouts.

What to watch

It is still early to know how much these tools change who gets signed and who gets left out. Watch whether more clubs treat app evaluations as a serious route into trials, and whether the scoring systems are transparent and fair for players from different regions and backgrounds.

Source: NYTimes