The History of Football Scouting
Historically, football scouting was a job done in person; how else could a football scout see what a player is capable of? Over the last 20 years, technology has significantly transformed scouting in football. With tech being so accessible, the football world has never had so many players be visible to scouts all at once.
Previously, technology didn't have the significance that it does now. Scouts had to travel up and down the country, or even across the world, to catch a glimpse of a star player. Top-level football clubs had the budget to send their scouts where they wanted, when they wanted to. However, this method of scouting made it very difficult for small to medium-sized clubs, as finances are a lot tighter for these clubs, and sending scouts to the other end of the country was not as easy.
Not only did this make a scout's job harder, but it made it quite hard to be scouted. To make it onto a scout's radar, you had to be discussed by coaches and other teams, word of mouth was the key to getting your chance at a big break. It was all about who you knew. However, scouting in football has undergone some drastic changes in recent years.
The current State of Scouting in Football
These days, many of the challenges of scouting in football are becoming a much smaller problem. The internet is to thank for that. In 2026, scouts don't need to immediately travel up and down the country to catch their first glimpse of some fresh football talent. Instead, they can see new players online, whether this is on social media, profiles being sent to them by coaches, or on dedicated scouting platforms.
The internet also makes it much easier for players to put themselves out there. This does bring its own new challenges for both scouts and players. Many more players are putting themselves out there these days on social media. As anyone has the ability to post on social media, the number of players promoting themselves on there has grown massively.
This makes it much harder to stand out from the crowd. It's great that more people can put themselves out there in hopes of being scouted, but it also means that it's harder and harder to actually be seen by the right person at the right time.
This not only poses issues for players, but it has setbacks for scouts, too. With thousands of football videos being uploaded a day, they physically can't watch them all. It's so easy for a star player to get lost in the sea of content available to scouts.
The Role of Technology in Football Scouting
One way that the most common issues with scouting in football have been solved is through the creation of various platforms and software. These platforms provide scouts access to a whole host of relevant information. Players can upload videos, create detailed player profiles, log their club history, achievements, and so much more.
Not only this, but these apps are subscription-based. This means that only players who are serious about getting scouted are using them; it cuts down the amount of competition between players, giving each player more of a spotlight. This improves the experience for players and scouts. Players are much more likely to be spotted, and scouts find it much easier and less overwhelming to find true football talent.
Grassroots to Glory is one of these platforms. The Grassroots to Glory app is aimed at players in smaller, low-level teams who want to start their journey from being in these small clubs and move on to bigger opportunities. Kids who get their starts in local teams naturally have a harder journey than those who get to start in established clubs, but that doesn't mean they don't deserve to be there.
This app gives these kids the platform that they need to get themselves in front of the right people at the right time. It takes the hard part out of getting scouted, now it's all about your talent, not who you know.
Conclusion
Technological advancements have not only saved football clubs time and money, but they have also made scouting easier and more accessible to everyone. Football is a sport that's made by the people who take part in it. Community is everything, and now that there are affordable platforms out there, anyone in that community has the chance to reach their wildest football dreams.
Time will only tell what further technological advancements will change in football scouting, AI is already making ripples in the scouting world. But as for 2026, scouting platforms are on the rise with platforms for high level players all the way to those just starting out their football careers.