More than 300 million people around the world are estimated to play soccer, but only a small percentage of them make it to the big leagues, or indeed any league. This includes people who may have what it takes but don’t have the opportunity to prove it, often due to geographic and economic barriers.
But thanks to AI-powered scouting tools, the chances are better for today’s generation of aspiring soccer stars everywhere. AI-powered scouting tools are democratizing sports by helping people get in front of the people making the shots.
One example is aiScout, a free app from UK-based Ai.io, which Fast Company named one of the top 10 most innovative companies in sports in 2025.
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- Athletes record videos of themselves completing various drills and submit them to clubs holding open trials through the app.
- The AI then uses computer vision to track more than 20 body points to analyze and score your performance against the Academy’s benchmarks.
- Athletes receive data-driven feedback, and clubs and scouts can review and analyze data to find potential players.
Richard Felton-Thomas, Chief Operating Officer of Ai.io, said: CNNscouts can make better use of their time, teams can benefit from a larger talent pool, and they have a better chance of finding soccer’s next big star.
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Officially launched in 2023, the app claims to have over 100,000 users, including 350 successful athletes in professional clubs.
- Example: Ben Greenwood was 17 years old and had never been scouted before, but he scored on trial for Chelsea FC after uploading videos of himself playing on an app. He played for professional club AFC Bournemouth and later for the Republic of Ireland.
India’s Reliance Foundation uses the app to award five-year sports scholarships to 11-year-olds, some of whom reportedly used community-shared phones to upload footage of themselves and were selected despite having never participated in organized sports.
The International Olympic Committee has also trialled the technology in rural Senegal to scout potential future Olympic athletes.
Next…
…The company plans to expand its technology to football, basketball, baseball and cricket, Felton-Thomas said, and could eventually find applications beyond sports, such as in medical and physical assessments for military service.
But for now, it’s here to level the playing field.
