Everton sign deal to scout for world's best players in Football Manager video game - The Daily Record
Everton sign deal to scout for world's best players in Football Manager video game
Nov 14 2008
EVERTON have become the first club in the world to sign up a computer game to look for the next footballing superstar.
The Premiership side have done a deal with the makers of the bestselling video game Football Manager to get an early look at their database of 370,000 players worldwide.
It cuts out the first stage of scouting for players - waiting for feedback from the club's network of talent spotters.
Football Manager's footballers, from junior level upwards, are meticulously researched and rated so that game players can choose them to make up their own dream team for competitions.
Clubs can use the same data to short-list potential targets all over the world before flying out to evaluate them.
Previous highly rated young players on the Sports Interactive game included two teenagers destined for world fame - England and Manchester United ace Wayne Rooney and Argentine wizard Lionel Messi.
Football Manager relies on its own network of 1000 scouts in 50 countries monitoring 20,000 teams.
Everton will get exclusive access to the full database.
The deal is special for one of the game's creators, Paul Collyer - an Everton fan.
He said: "The database is the most extensive scouting network in football so Everton FC is making a top signing."
Football Manager studio director Miles Jacobson added: "Clubs use the game to research certain players ... but formal recognition by a top team is fantastic."
