Hudl buys Wyscout to create 'super system'
Wyscout was founded in Italy in 2004
Written by Simon Austin — July 30, 2019
PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS firm Hudl has bought scouting platform Wyscout, creating “the most comprehensive football video analysis, data and recruitment platform in the industry”.
The acquisition of the global leader in scouting and talent identification, which was founded in Italy in 2004, marks Hudl’s ninth takeover since 2011.
More than 1,000 professional clubs, 1,000 player agencies and 60 national teams and federations use Wyscout’s video and data library, which will now be connected to Hudl’s suite of solutions.
Hudl’s Chief Product Officer, John Wirtz, said: “Without having an army of data scientists, clubs of all sizes will be able to make impactful, sophisticated, data-driven decisions every day.
“Hudl and Wyscout coming together means coaches, analysts and the football community will have unprecedented access to all the video and data they need to drive improvement and unearth talent from all over the world.
“And they’ll have all of this at their fingertips, which lets them focus on their core roles, not navigating across multiple systems. It’s going to dramatically change lives.
“Some of the biggest breakthroughs are going to be powered by machine learning and artificial intelligence. Clubs can take advantage of camera systems that require no human operation and that produce highly accurate physical data from optical player tracking - which is accessible and usable with just a few clicks of a button.
"Not only will all this be a part of the Pro Suite, but it will also be connected to the new Hudl Sportscode, which was released two weeks ago. By bringing our R&D teams together, we can deliver this type of value to teams even faster.”
Matteo Campodonico, CEO of Wyscout, added: “Today, there are a lot of interactions between clubs and the agents, between the youth team and the first team, between referees, and so on. Combining platforms will make everything easier not just for clubs, but for everyone in the industry.
“It was very clear to us early on that they were just as passionate as we are about helping members of the football community reach their potential through technology and collaboration.
“For organizations to reach their full potential they need to recruit the best talent. For athletes to reach their full potential they need to be seen. Connecting Wyscout’s content to Hudl’s video analysis and distribution platform means clubs won’t just have access to a local pool of talent, they’ll have access to a global network of players.
"This ‘super system’ will provide this access in a way that saves everyone hours of time.”
WHAT WILL IT MEAN FOR CLUBS?
Ben Stevens, Head Of Analysis (Performance and Recruitment), Crystal Palace:
"All of the performance and recruitment analysts use Wyscout, Hudl and Sportscode in their workflow. Wyscout is for obtaining the correct matches to analyse formations, opposition, and so on.
Sportscode is then used to code player and team involvements and Hudl is the online platform where we can hold and share our end result presentations to players and staff. It is important that recruitment and performance analysts all analyse and value player performance in the same way, so as a department we are offer the same support and information to the management staff.
"When the three products are connected it will make a huge time saving for analysts to have a one stop shop for all our analysis needs. This time saved will allow for more time to be spent on actual analysis of matches and players."
