Football AI picks player candidates

Spanish football club Sevilla uses IBM’s Generative Artificial Intelligence platform to pick promising players. Their partnership led to the development of the Scout Advisor AI tool, which enhances recruitment and competitiveness. It lets scouters receive a curated candidate list based on specific player characteristics. 

Artificial intelligence guides our decision-making, so seeing a sports team use this technology for recruitment is unsurprising. Soon, other sports will deploy the same application to improve their teams. As a result, it might improve the performance of your favorite groups, especially if they haven’t been winning championships lately!

This article will discuss how Sevilla FC will use AI to choose the best players better than ever. Later, I will share other ways sports are using artificial intelligence.

How does this football AI improve recruitment?

Scout Advisor combines Sevilla FC’s player evaluation database and IBM’s artificial intelligence. It uses natural language processing and foundational models to evaluate potential candidates.

Let’s say you’re a scouter, one of the people looking for new players for Sevilla. You input the type of player you need on Scout Advisor. 

In response, the program examines quantifiable data, such as minutes played, goals scored, and text information from over 200,000 scouting reports. Then, it returns a list of suitable players. 

The football club used artificial intelligence because the traditional methods are time-consuming and inconvenient. Previously, player recruitment relied on scouters choosing candidates by reading data and relying on subjective human observations.

This approach is becoming unacceptable for elite sports teams. They depend on multi-million-dollar investments and long-term contracts that require a return on investment. 

Artificial intelligence enables Sevilla FC to choose the best more quickly and easily to gain a competitive edge. Here’s what the club president José María del Nido Carrasco said regarding his new program:

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“This gives us a significant advantage in the player recruitment process and enables us to find the best players for our team and continue to improve our performance on the pitch.”

“We believe that this collaboration will have a positive impact not only for Sevilla FC but for the sports industry as a whole.”

“With this tool, Sevilla FC also demonstrates that technology is not just a goal but an intimate companion on the journey towards the future of our entity; it is part of its DNA.”

Other sports AI applications

You may not realize it, but modern sports use artificial intelligence for various purposes. For example, the World Rugby Association will use AI to prevent injuries.

They will provide smart mouthguards to players that detect potential brain injuries. “The advances in smart mouthguards mean elite players will be better cared for than ever before,” said World Rugby Chief Medical Officer Dr. Eanna Falvey.

Last year, the Philippines showcased its AI sportscasters. NMI Studios Head of Creatives Ramil Escarda explained, “It doesn’t replace human ingenuity; instead, it amplifies it, making our storytelling more powerful and accessible.”

Sports AI extends to player equipment, too. Here are some of the applications that the custom app company Imaginovation mentioned: 

• Bicycle: AI bikes use GPS and traffic data to map the most efficient route. Also, Strava and similar apps track your daily laps.
• Golf clubs: AI clubs have sensors that monitor a user’s swing. Then, it uses that data to adjust the swing weight, optimizing user experience.
• Running shoes: Innovative AI running shoes adapt cushioning according to user fatigue to ensure optimal support and comfort throughout a run.

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At the time of writing, AI sports algorithms cannot take over referees and other officials. However, experts say AI could replace them in 30 years. 

Aldo Comi, chief executive of leading global football analytics provider Soccerment, said, “The amount of data that is tagged and the quality of the models that are trained with that data will increase exponentially.

“Thanks to that, you will have AI models that can make refereeing decisions on the back of what they see on the pitch. “So we might get to the point where we don’t need a referee at all,” he added.

Conclusion

A new football AI program assists Sevilla FC in choosing potential players for its team. It provides a list of candidates based on a scouter’s requirements so they can conveniently choose players.

This type of application is also present in workplaces. Believe it or not, more companies are using artificial intelligence to facilitate choosing job applicants. 

Learning how to adapt to this technology is a must to stay competitive. Start by following the latest digital tips and trends at Inquirer Tech.