Want to Break Into Football? Here's Your Permission Slip
Something caught my attention in our Recruitment Room community this week.
One member took a bold step. No previous Tableau experience. No Twitter account. No LinkedIn presence.
Just created a basic profile and started sharing their football analytics work.
That's it. Nothing fancy. But they're already building momentum.
And here's what fascinates me: this pattern I keep seeing among aspiring football analysts and scouts. It's a pattern that's holding too many talented people back.
They're all waiting for the "perfect moment" that never arrives.
You might recognize yourself in this. Maybe you're:
- Waiting to set up that X account until you have the perfect bio
- Holding off on sharing analysis until you've mastered every data visualisation technique
- Postponing job applications until you get that extra qualification
- Delaying your start because you don't have access to premium data sources
Over the past 18 months, I've watched several analysts go from posting their first pieces of work online to securing positions at League One and League Two clubs.They were analysts who followed this simple advice: just start sharing your work.
Their secret? They didn't wait for perfection.
The Real Barriers Aren't What You Think
The barriers most aspiring analysts face aren't actually about education, resources, or tools.
They're about beliefs. I've seen countless talented individuals convince themselves they need:
- A master's degree before applying for roles
- The latest talent identification certificates
- Premium data subscriptions
- A perfect social media presence
But here's what really matters: your ability to start, learn, and grow.
Your Action Plan: Starting From Where You Are
- Start With Available Resources
- Use free data from FBref or Statsbomb's free data library
- Focus on creating basic but insightful analysis
- Share your work consistently, even if it isn't perfect
- Build Your Online Presence
- Create basic social media profiles - they don't need to be perfect
- Start sharing your analysis - even simple observations matter
- Engage with the football analysis community
- Focus on Development, Not Perfection
- Use feedback to improve your analysis
- Learn tools like Tableau as you go
- Build your skills through practical application
The Power of Just Starting
Remember that community member I mentioned earlier?
They didn't wait for the perfect moment. They didn't have a sophisticated setup. They just started. And that's often the difference between those who break into football and those who don't.
You don't need:
- A web scraping pipeline
- Premium data subscriptions
- An advanced degree
- A perfect portfolio
You just need to start.
Your Next Steps
- Create your social media accounts today - even with minimal setup
- Share one piece of analysis this week using free data
- Engage with three other analysts in your field
- Start building your portfolio with whatever tools you currently have
Remember: Every analyst or scout you admire started somewhere.
They weren't born experts, and their first analyses weren't perfect either. The difference is they started.
Want to see more examples of successful transitions into football analysis? Join us in the Recruitment Room, where we're building a community of aspiring analysts and scouts who are taking action and making progress every day.
What will you share first?
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