Premier League sides to use Football Manager database to scout players
English Premier League football teams will this season make use of the player rating databases of video game 'Football Manager' to track and sign new players in a first-of-its-kind agreement with the developer.
The database rates players by skill in several fields of play
Sports Interactive, which annually releases the bestselling football management simulator, will integrate its extensive database with online analysis platform 'Prozone Recruiter' - a utility top clubs use to access player footage.
The game developer's database, which has been built over the last two decades, includes the contractual positioning and biographical information of players - information which can now be accessed by subscibers of the Prozone Recruitment tool.
Thomas Schmider, chief executive of Prozone, said: “Prozone Recruiter has been built to supplement the intuition of scouts and coaches by delivering detailed performance information on over 80,000 players worldwide.
“It’s not a one-size-fits-all solution, instead it’s been designed to empower clubs to tailor its functionality to suit their own unique recruitment requirements.
“The Sports Interactive database is a highly accurate and valuable resource that will further enhance the recruitment services that we provide. Complementing our exhaustive technical data and video footage, this further establishes Recruiter as the most comprehensive recruitment and asset management platform available.”
Miles Jacobson, studio director of Sports Interactive, said: “For years we’ve heard stories of real-life managers and scouts using our data to help with the recruitment process.
“From now on, it’s official, real managers around the world will be finding and comparing players using data and a search system that will be very familiar to players of Football Manager.
“The information gathered by our network of more than 1,300 scouts around the world, combined with Prozone’s amazing performance data, makes this an invaluable tool for any football club that takes player recruitment seriously.”
Football Manager 2014, the bestselling PC title of 2013, will support sides such as Manchester United, which last month signed a record breaking £70m-a-year deal with Adidas.