May 3 – The rapidly-growing artificial intelligence industry is making its mark on the scouting and recruitment of the next generation of young footballers. British startup ai.io is emerging as one of the leaders in a sector that it hopes will revolutionise talent identification.
The company already has two Premier League partnerships under its belt having secured long-term deals with Chelsea and Burnley in recent seasons.
It is now looking to the US and the MLS in what it says will be a ‘massive’ expansion as it piggybacks on the explosion of the professional game in the country.
“We’re very excited to branch out into the Major League Soccer later this year,” Richard Felton-Thomas, Director of Sports Science & Chief Operating Officer told Insideworldfootball.
“We’re in our third year of a five-year contract with Chelsea and have spent four years with Burnley. We’ve got 150 clubs that are ready to join the platform as we grow our sales team, plus the partnership with the MLS where our product gets rolled out across every team in September.
“The data shows that soccer is the fifth most popular sport in the US, even though the first sport most people pick up is soccer, because it’s easy to get involved and get a ball around.
“They lose that talent around 9-12 years old when they enter school and start to play different sports where the pathways are more set, like basketball or American Football.
“By introducing the app into the MLS, it shows there’s a pathway into soccer across the US. They’re looking to keep young people engaged with soccer this could benefit the whole sport across the continent.”
The company has released a duo of apps, aiScout and aiLabs, which aim to change the face of grassroots scouting using its artificial intelligence model to increase the accessibility of professional football, whilst aiding scouts in their mission to pick up top young players ahead of their rivals.
“We have built an Ai capability…
Source link : https://www.insideworldfootball.com/2024/05/03/ai-start-looks-revolutionise-talent-identification-scouting-business/
Author : Paul Nicholson
Publish date : 2024-05-03 04:30:00
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