Spanish football club Sevilla FC today announced the launch of Scout Advisor, a generative AI-powered solution designed to enhance their player recruitment process. Built by IBM, Scout Advisor leverages natural language processing and IBM's watsonx AI platform to help Sevilla FC's scouting team identify and evaluate potential player recruits.
Scout Advisor taps into Sevilla FC's database of over 200,000 scouting reports to search for quantitative metrics as well as qualitative assessments from scouts' written evaluations. Using prompts in natural language, Sevilla FC's scouts can query the system to produce lists of recommended players that meet defined criteria. Additionally, Scout Advisor summarizes key details on candidates from the club's data tools tracking on-pitch performance statistics.
The introduction comes at a crucial time for Sevilla FC, currently sitting just above the relegation zone in 17th place in La Liga as they struggle through a difficult season. The deployment of advanced analytics technology aims to help the club get creative in attracting talent needed to boost competitiveness during this rebuilding period.
The use of AI and data analytics in football isn't new, elite clubs have long used advanced data analytics to evaluate player performance, predict outcomes, and enhance training methods. However, what sets Scout Advisor apart is its natural language processing capabilities. The ability to interpret and analyze scouting reports written in everyday language will surface insights that go beyond mere numbers and statistics. It's the ability to synthesize and understand qualitative data that will make generative AI tools like Scout Advisor a distinctive addition to the world of sports analytics.
"Scout Advisor can be a game-changer for Sevilla FC and the whole sports industry," said Sevilla FC President José María del Nido Carrasco in a statement. "With the support of IBM, we can now utilize our asset of past scouting reports to its full potential."
By integrating watsonx-based solutions into their existing data architecture, Sevilla FC aims to enhance ROI on their scouting investments. This initiative is part of the club's broader business and technology strategy, leveraging data and AI to bolster their football operations.
IBM Spain Chair Horacio Morell noted the collaboration "helps Sevilla FC transform the player recruitment process and unlock the full potential of their data." It serves as a model for how AI can create competitive advantages for enterprises across industries.