In a transformative turn for youth scouting in football, Eyeball, a cutting-edge platform, is revolutionizing how clubs identify and recruit young talent. The platform provides video clips enriched with thousands of data points for each player, allowing clubs to search for specific player profiles based on position, height, nationality, and more. With a rapidly growing database now containing 250,000 players, Eyeball has become an indispensable tool for the majority of clubs in Europe's top five major leagues and most clubs in the English Championship.
Eyeball's user base has seen a significant increase, expanding from 130,000 players to 250,000 within a year. The platform anticipates reaching half a million players by next year. As clubs continue to transition from traditional scouting methods to this innovative technology, Eyeball provides direct contact information for each player, enabling streamlined communication between clubs and potential recruits.
The platform's impact extends beyond Europe, as Eyeball is making strides into Africa and embarking on a major expansion into South America. This ambitious project involves a nine-figure investment and the deployment of three full-time professionals on the ground. Notably, Eyeball has already played a pivotal role in several player transfers, with some clubs basing their decisions purely on insights gained from the platform.
Benjamin Balkin, a key figure behind Eyeball, shared insights into the platform's evolution and its role in the scouting process. Reflecting on past practices, Balkin noted the challenges clubs faced:
"What we were doing was trying to be lucky basically. Just picking a game a bit instinctively on a Saturday afternoon. Going to watch it and hoping that the left-back you were looking for, for that English club that was in need, was going to be on the pitch."
To address these challenges, Balkin and his team took matters into their own hands:
"We decided to start filming the games ourselves."
This innovative approach led to an increase in response rates from clubs and shortened decision-making times:
"The response rate from clubs increased. The decision-making time got way shorter."
Eyeball's ability to streamline and enhance the scouting process is evident from its wide adoption and success across numerous leagues. The platform's sophisticated search capabilities make it easier for scouts to create shortlists based on specific criteria:
"Balkin talks through it and it is stunningly simple, Football Manager for real. 'I can select my data points to make my shortlist. Let's search for a centre-back, this year, European passport, national team player, this tall. It really makes the scout's life much easier.'"
As international scouting barriers lower and more clubs look beyond borders for talent, Eyeball is positioned as a crucial resource:
"More and more clubs do not really care where a player comes from as long as they are good enough. That is already the strategy of clubs at first-team level but with the barrier to international scouting now lowering, clubs will have to transition more and more."
Balkin emphasized Eyeball's integral role in modern scouting:
"As a general rule, if the club is using Eyeball and the player is on Eyeball, Eyeball played a role in the due diligence. It is likely that 70 to 80 per cent of the scouting reports made on young players are actually made on video based on Eyeball. It is as simple as that."
With data playing an increasingly important role in football scouting, Eyeball ensures that clubs remain ahead of the curve:
"Data has been focused on first-team football for the past decade but players are moving at 19 now. Maybe it will be 17 soon. The clubs need to know about them at 14."
Eyeball's transformative influence is undeniable as it changes how football clubs scout young talent. Balkin asserts that adopting this technology is now essential:
"We have passed the tipping point now," says Balkin. "If you are not using Eyeball, you are the exception. I think there are four in the Premier League not using it. Two in Ligue 1."
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