IT HAS CHANGED the way teams look at signing players because of technology that allows them to reach places that were difficult to reach before.
It creates teams that rely on spies in different countries to spot a player and report them. It was necessary for a certain official of the team to visit the place where the player runs to sell himself.
It was a common thing that after all that work it was discovered that the player had already finished everything with another big team, “piling up” the time and money used to follow him.
Modern technology enables teams to watch international matches, analyze players and even in which league they are playing. This makes it easier to find and sell players as teams are able to choose from different countries quickly.
Leon of Mamelodi Sundowns and history in technology
One of the leading platforms for marketing and selling players using technology is TransferRoom, which brings together teams and players’ representatives.
The company prides itself on the fact that teams no longer need to have scouts on different continents to find hot players, making it easier for them to find players they would not have been able to spot before.
Recently, the company recently revealed that Brayan Leon of Mamelodi Sundowns was the 10,000th player sold on its website since it was established in 2017.
The Colombian striker joined the Brazilians in January this year from Independiente Medellín. The first to be sold at this stadium in 2017 was Jón Daði Böðvarsson from Iceland who moved from Reading to Wolverhampton Wanderers in England.
“We are proud to be a part of history in that our player became the 10,000th sold through the Transfer Room platform. There is no doubt that it played a big role in connecting us with his new team and that the negotiations went well,” said Carlos Van-Strahalen who is the manager of the company that manages Leon’s affairs, Passion Sports, on the TransferRoom website.
Some outstanding players have gone through this process
Apart from Leon, who has made a difference in the local league, the Betway Premiership, by scoring important goals, there are many other outstanding players in the big leagues who are finding greener pastures because of the new ways of selling players.
Chelsea’s engine, Moises Caicedo, was helped by this technology to be signed by Brighton and Hove Albion from the Ecuadorian team Independiente del Valle, Bournemouth got Antoine Semenyo who is playing in Manchester City and took him from Bristol City, as well as Arsenal striker Viktor Gyökeres when he moved from Coventry to the Portuguese team, Sporting CP.
“It was easy for us to quickly contact Viktor’s team and let them know that we want him after seeing him on the field,” said Hugo Viana, former Director of Football at Sporting.
How do these platforms work?
The player’s representatives put all his information, including videos, in this forum so that the team that needs the player can quickly see him who has the skills they need. The team then contacted the player’s agent on the same platform, and they started negotiating.
It also contains information about contracts so that the team knows how long the player is stuck and how much money they can expect to pay if they need him.
More than 800 teams use TransferRoom to look for players and thousands of players from more than 130 leagues are registered in the system.
This means that it is easier for teams in this country to find players from South America, Europe, Asia and other African countries without having to come to them.
Local players can also find themselves wanted by teams from other countries that they never thought they could play for.
Besides TransferRoom, there are other websites used by teams and agents including Wyscout, Global Football Platform, InScout Network and others.
Even though the old ways of a team being told about a hot player in a certain area or seeing him in low-level competitions are still going on, the existence of these platforms that allow teams to reach far without spending large sums of money means that it is easier to quickly find the player they need.