An estimated 300m+ people play soccer worldwide, but only a fraction of them ever make it to the big leagues, or really any league. This includes those who might have what it takes but lack the opportunity to prove it, often due to geographic and economic barriers.
But the odds are better for today’s generation of aspiring soccer stars — wherever they happen to be — thanks to AI-powered scouting tools that are democratizing the sport by helping them get in front of the people who call the shots.
One example is aiScout, a free app by UK-based Ai.io, which Fast Company named one of 2025’s top 10 most innovative companies in sports.
How it works
- Athletes record videos of themselves completing different drills and submit them to clubs with open trials through the app.
- AI then analyzes and scores their performance against academy benchmarks, using computer vision to track over 20 body points.
- Athletes get data-driven feedback, while clubs and scouts are able to review and analyze the data to find potential players.
This way, Ai.io’s chief operating officer Richard Felton-Thomas told CNN, scouts can make better use of their time, while teams benefit from a bigger talent pool, meaning a better chance of finding soccer’s next big star.
How it’s going
The app, which officially launched in 2023, claims 100k+ users, including 350 athletes who’ve found success with pro clubs.
- For example: Ben Greenwood, who at age 17 had never been scouted, scored a trial with Chelsea FC after uploading videos of himself playing to the app. He went on to play for pro club AFC Bournemouth and later the Republic of Ireland.
India’s Reliance Foundation uses the app to award five-year sports scholarships to 11-year-olds, including one who reportedly used a shared community phone to upload footage of himself and was selected despite having never played an organized sport.
The International Olympics Committee has also piloted the tech, in rural Senegal, to scout potential future Olympians.
Next…
… the company plans to expand its tech to include football, basketball, baseball, and cricket — and, eventually, maybe even beyond sports, with Felton-Thomas noting potential applications in health care, physical evaluations for military service, and more.
But, for now, here’s to leveling the playing field.
