Wyscout Data Is the New Oil

In 2017, The Economist published a story titled, “The world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data”. It’s no secret that data has become an integral part of high performance workflows in football as a result of the technological evolution in the past decade. With the margins of success in elite football becoming smaller and smaller in every aspect of the game, clubs are looking to unlock the power of performance data to make better informed decisions and mitigate the risk, both on the pitch and in the boardroom.

Data in Scouting

The aspect of the business with the highest risk of making bad investment decisions—which will ultimately have a negative impact on pitch performances and the club’s finances—is scouting and player trading. With the help of Wyscout data and API service, clubs can reduce risks by making datadriven decisions, limiting the number of unknown variables within a signing, while also providing decision makers with all the necessary information to make the right call.

“Those who turn their back to data will lag behind.”

Monchi, Sevilla FC Director of Football

What is Wyscout data?

A Global Library of Data

Wyscout democratizes access to tactical data, allowing clubs at all levels of the game the ability to view, analyze and interrogate data to inform key decisions. With 2,000 games tagged and 4 million new events added each week, Wyscout’s global library of video and data provides a valuable asset for football clubs. Wyscout collects accurate, play-by-play data from more than 300 competitions worldwide, allowing clubs to make every decision with objectivity.

The areas in which Wyscout data can be implemented are many, from scouting to player development and performance analysis. With a global range of countries and leagues covered, Wyscout data provides value to any level of club, whether it’s a first division team fighting for silverware, or a third-tier club with ambitions to take their organization to the next level. “Is this player better than the ones we currently have? Does he fit into our team/league? Can he play our style of football?” These are some of the key questions that clubs should answer before signing a player, and every question can be answered effectively with data. A professional and data-driven scouting workflow would include the usage of Wyscout APIs to create long lists of possible signings, following up the initial talent identification with remote and live scouting, data analysis, and a 360-degree view of players’ information.

“On one side, the objective data, and on the other side, the subjective analysis of video. We’re trying to work with both tools, trying to achieve perfection—that would be the subjective analysis to fully match the objective analysis.”

Monchi, Sevilla FC Director of Football

Custom KPIs & Data Visualization

Decision makers in football are well aware that players who performed on a certain level in a certain league are not automatically set to perform in the same exact way when they change club and/or country. Again, data can help clubs reduce risks by making sure that their transfer targets have the right skills to perform in a new context.

Thanks to a wide range of team and player metrics—142 and 115, respectively—clubs can set up custom KPIs to create data benchmarks that can reflect the team’s playing style, analyzing the players’ performances in a more accurate context. For example, depending on the player’s role on the pitch, clubs can give different metrics more or less importance to make sure the players’ contribution on the pitch is clear, regardless of their position.

By using interactive dashboards provided by third-party business intelligence software like Tableau or Power BI, clubs can leverage Wyscout data & APIs to compare and filter players’ performance, getting insights at a glance from a wide range of data from 300+ competitions worldwide. Or you can choose to rely on the Hudl Pro Services team, our world-class consultancy service which can help clubs develop and implement bespoke processes to link the recruitment strategy to the team’s philosophy.

Wyscout API 101

So, how exactly does the Wyscout API work? Wyscout’s powerful platform database and stats are integrated with apps and external websites. Wyscout sends data feeds through a standard API format, ensuring complete compatibility with any digital platform. This allows clubs to create their own database, choosing the output format that’s suitable for their needs and taking the analysis beyond what is traditionally available. In other words, clubs can use data intelligence to further their understanding of performance.

Wyscout APIs are available in different packs that suit different levels of needs and workflows. From the DB Pack— with player profiles, transfers information, and results and basic matches from any competition—to the Events Pack, which gives access to data from any competitions, and includes events, metrics, stats, DB info, photos and historical data. Different combinations and add-ons can be tailored to suit any need.