Premier League side West Ham United have announced a new collaboration with AWS and software group Crayon to develop an AI-powered scouting platform.
The three parties hope to create a new standard in identifying footballing talent, which has become heavily reliant on data.
West Ham has cultivated a reputation for its football academy, which has produced top players including Arsenal and England star Declan Rice. Through this tech collaboration, the London team hopes to stay at the forefront of innovation.
The new platform will integrate generative AI capabilities using Amazon SageMaker and Amazon Bedrock, which will supply West Ham with the tools to gather, analyse, benchmark and compare player data from across the world.
“The platform we are developing using AI and machine learning builds comprehensive models to evaluate players across multiple dimensions – performance, playing style, team dynamics, age, experience, and financial fit – ensuring recruitment aligns with team goals,” said Maximilian Hahn, head of technical recruitment and analysis at West Ham.
“By automating and streamlining these processes, we can analyse vast datasets across markets and efficiently identify top talent, making player selection more strategic, consistent, and future-focused.”
The club will also have support from Crayon’s Center of Excellence and the AWS Generative AI Innovation Center, which helps organisations to successfully build and implement generative AI solutions.
“The world’s top sports organisations are increasingly using AWS to build data-driven solutions and reinvent the way sports are experienced, played, and managed,” said AWS’s Joe Carroll.
“We’re proud to collaborate with West Ham United and Crayon to build this innovative AI-powered platform, which will revolutionise both talent scouting within the club, and the business of football.”
