Will AI revolutionize professional soccer recruitment?<p>Skeptics raised their eyebrows when Major League Soccer (MLS) <a data-i13n="cpos:1;pos:1" href="
https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/major-league-soccer-and-ai-io-announce-partnership-to-provide-all-players-with-a">announced plans[/url] to deploy AI-powered tools in its recruiting program starting at the tail end of this year. The MLS will be working with London-based startup <a data-i13n="cpos:2;pos:1" href="
https://www.ai.io/">ai.io[/url], and its ‘<a data-i13n="cpos:3;pos:1" href="
https://www.ai.io/players">aiScout
https://iris.unive.it/retrieve/8121e0e6-8ccb-4f2c-bfbf-ac502b0b8a65/Balzano-Bortoluzzi-2023-IPEJM.pdf">some experts believe the disruption of the professional soccer industry by AI is timely.[/url] It’s no secret that soccer is the most commonly played sport in the world. With 240 million registered players globally and billions of fans, FIFA is currently made up of 205 member associations with over 300,000 clubs, <a data-i13n="cpos:5;pos:1" href="
https://guides.loc.gov/sports-industry/soccer">according to the Library of Congress[/url]. Just days into the 64-game tournament,<a data-i13n="cpos:6;pos:1" href="
https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/womens/womensworldcup/australia-new-zealand2023/media-releases/fifa-womens-world-cup-2023-tm-breaks-new-records"> FIFA officials said[/url] that the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand had already broken attendance records.</p><figure><img src="
https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2023-07/232aca90-2fbf-11ee-b7fb-08d8dd2d47e8" style="height:2296px;width:3476px;" alt="WELLINGTON, AUSTRALIA -JULY 27: The official FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 badge on the sleeve of a player during the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 Group E match between USA and Netherlands at Wellington Regional Stadium on July 27, 2023 in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo by Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images)" data-uuid="f7b59a04-da84-3f41-b793-985e2abf2010"><figcaption></figcaption><div class="photo-credit">Visionhaus via Getty Images</div></figure><p>The need for more players and more talent taking on the big stage has kept college recruiting organizations like <a data-i13n="cpos:7;pos:1" href="
https://www.sportsrecruitingusa.com/">Sports Recruiting USA[/url] (SRUSA) busy. "We've got staff all over the world, predominantly in the US …everyone is always looking for players," said Chris Cousins, the founder and head of operations at SRUSA. Cousins said he is personally excited about the potential impact of artificial intelligence on his company and, in fact, he is not threatened by the implementation of predictive analysis impacting SRUSA's bottom line. </p><p>"It probably will replace scouts," he added, but at the same time, he said he believes the deployment of AI will make things more efficient. "It will basically streamline resources … which will save organizations money." Cousins said that SRUSA has already started dabbling with AI, even if only in a modest way. It collaborated with a company called <a data-i13n="cpos:8;pos:1" href="
https://www.veo.co/">Veo[/url] that deploys drones that follow players and collect video for scouts to analyze later. </p><p>Luis Cortell, senior recruiting coach for men’s soccer for <a data-i13n="cpos:9;pos:1" href="
https://www.ncsasports.org/">NCSA College Recruiting[/url], is a little less bullish, but still believes AI can be an asset. “Right now, soccer involves more of a feel for the player, and an understanding of the game, and there aren't any success metrics for college performance," he said. "While AI won’t fully fill that gap, there is an opportunity to help provide additional context.”</p><figure><img src="
https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2023-08/3ba9fc00-32fb-11ee-bf71-368c954464de" style="height:960px;width:1054px;" alt="ai.io event pictured." data-uuid="6a7db499-a800-30fa-ae9e-5c51103d417d"><figcaption></figcaption><div class="photo-credit">ai.io</div></figure><p>At the same time, people in the industry should be wary of idealizing AI as a godsend. "People expect AI to be amazing, to not make errors or if it makes errors, it makes errors rarely," Shapiro said. The fact is, predictive models will always make mistakes but both researchers and investors alike want to make sure that AI innovations in the space can make "fewer errors and less expensive errors" than the ones made by human beings.</p><p>But ultimately, Shapiro agrees with Cousins. He believes artificial intelligence will replace some payrolls for sure. "Might it replace talent scouts? Absolutely," he said. However, the ultimate decision-makers of how resources are being used will probably not be replaced by AI for some time. Contrary to both perspectives, Richard Felton-Thomas, director of sports sciences and chief operating officer at ai.io, said the technology being developed and used by the MLS will not replace scouts.
Will AI revolutionize professional soccer recruitment?
