How to Transform from a Football Fan to a Professional Scout

Football is a game of opinions, and everyone has one.

It's just that some people perfect their ability to inform those opinions, and are employed for giving them.

But here's what I think.

Anyone can develop their scouting ability to a professional level. It just takes practice, consistency and learning.

To be a scout you don't have to have all your talent ID badges and you don't need to have a decade of experience.

If you look online or listen to "people in the game" they'll tell you:

• You need to have "played the game" to know it
• Experience beats everything
• These "spreadsheet nerds" shouldn't be scouting
• You've always got to watch live games

Ultimately these are beliefs from yesteryear, they belong in the last decade and football is moving on from this.

There are steps you can take to begin learning and practicing your scouting ability. It's not expensive, it doesn't take years it just takes consistent action. From there you can begin to show your work online, and leverage that to get opportunities in football.

FA Talent ID Level 1

You don't need all your talent ID badges, and you don't need all the certificates from organisations like the PFSA or IPSO. But they can help with your development and understanding. Especially when starting out.

My advice is to always start with the FA Talent ID level 1, it's completely free to do and it's online.

Use this as the starting point for your knowledge base. If you want to invest more into your learning, then move onto other certificates.

Working in Public

So much football is live streamed and recorded online, you don't need to leave your home to start scouting.

The old school scouts might say you've got to go watch live games and that video doesn't give you the full picture. Well, all clubs extensively use video for scouting, and multiple clubs no longer do any live scouting, instead relying solely on video.

So to get the ball rolling by utilising video, the best resources are FIFA+, which is a free streaming service, and Ben Griffis' free streaming sheet.

Ultimately the best way to get better at scouting is by watching games and writing scout reports. By utilising digital scouting tools like my free scouting tool, or Pro Scout Edge you can create a report database of your work to share on your online portfolio. The best and quickest way to get feedback on your work is by sharing it online.

Leverage Analysis

Roles at clubs are more intertwined, especially in recruitment. Teams are looking to maximise their resource by hiring people with multiple skill sets. This often means analysts are doing video scouting and going to games.

I can think of numerous examples where people in data roles are now doing scouting. Where they've either transitioned into a scouting specific role, or have it as a core part of their responsibilities.

Developing data skills, and going down the analyst route is ultimately why I have multiple years of professional scouting experience. It's a route you can follow too.

So if you want to become a scout long term, a viable route is to get your first opportunity in the game within an analysis role initially.

Working in football isn't something that's going to happen overnight. You need to be consistent in watching football, writing reports, sharing them online and learning (when you need it). Think of it as a long term investment.

By doing this you're going to develop the skills, get feedback, grow an audience and grab the attention of people in the game which will lead to opportunities.

Have a great week and go well.

Liam

Whenever you’re ready there are 2 ways I can help you:

1. Recruitment Room - My online membership community helps aspiring and new football professionals secure jobs working in recruitment. Master the four pillars of scouting, analysis, online portfolio, and employment. Learn from industry experts through our workshops, hot seats, and live sessions.
2. Pro Scout Edge - My scouting tool has been created by professionals and tested by experts in football. It’s the ultimate online scouting database you need for your scouting journey. It forms an all-in-one system for player and team scouting, with templates, dashboards and more.