Isaac Felizardo

Whether you are on vacation, or back to work in the stadium, we both know you will watch all the EURO matches back-to-back. Why not use this effort productively and boost your personal brand and career? 1. Expand Database - Expand your personal scouted players database - Enrich it with underdog players you see playing in this EURO edition 2. Showcase your Player and Match Analysis - Use social media to show your player scouting skills - Use livestream videos to edit your own match analysis knowledge 3. Stay Updated - Learn from other experts' analyses and reports - Follow the "Mind Games" blog posts of Rodrigo Ferreira in ScoutDecision blog with a Sport Psychology analysis 4. Experiment with technologies - There are a lot of software tools and data sources that you haven't tried yet - If you were looking to have a free trial of ScoutDecision, now might be a good time to have a go 5. BONUS: Live Networking - If you can make it to Germany, definitely hit people up - Be it Linkedin or Instagram, pull up a friendly "Hello! I'd love to connect with you" and make new friends through football

FIFA conducted a football agent exam on 22 May 2024. Which raises the question: How? How does one become a FIFA-licenced Football Agent in 2024? To become a FIFA-licensed football agent in 2024, you must follow these steps: 1. Eligibility Ensure you meet the eligibility requirements set by FIFA, such as: - Clean Record: You must not have been found delivering Football Agent Services without the required license or registration as an intermediary in the 24 months before applying. - No Suspension: You must not have been suspended (for 2 years or more), disqualified, or struck off by a regulatory authority or sports governing body. - Exam and CPD: You must pass the licensing exam and comply with continuing professional development (CPD) requirements. - Application Fee: Payment of a fee is required as part of the application process. 2. Application If you are eligible, you should then apply via the FIFA Agent Platform. Beware of deadlines, though! For example, the application period for this May's exam was from 9 January 2024 to 31 March 2024. 3. Examination If your application is successful, you will be invited to sit the FIFA Football Agent Exam. The exam is designed to test your knowledge of FIFA regulations and the football transfer system. 4. Exam Details The exam lasts 60 minutes and comprises twenty multiple-choice questions. The pass mark is 75%. You must bring your own laptop and provide your own internet connection to take the exam. 5. Pay the annual fee For your FIFA licence to remain active, you must pay the annual fee of USD 600! While USD 600 might not seem too much in the USA and some parts of Europe, agents from other parts of the world with weaker currencies have a hard time getting all the necessary funds. 6. CPD to represent minors (Optional) Agents who want to represent minors or clubs in transactions involving minors must first complete a CPD course on minors If you are interested in representing minors, please be aware of further regulations on approaching a minor directly, having the consent of the legal guardians and always complying with national laws. Lastly, a disclaimer: this information can change so please always verify FIFA's official website for up-to-date information.

Before getting into football, I was an engineering A-student. Yep, a nerd. A 100% certified one. Let me give you my 2 cents on how to pass your FIFA Agents licence examination and share with you some tips for studying for it. 1. Post-its You'd go crazy if you saw my walls full of post-its before exams. It turns out that creating a visual summary representation helps you learn better. 2. Open-book test Open-book exams require different studying strategies. Instead of trying to memorize everything, try to memorize where each bit of information lies, and understand the logic behind it. Understanding beats Memorizing. Every single time. 3. Practice mock-up exams There are a few mock-up exams available online. Practice doing those as realistically as possible - make them time-bound and try to emulate the environment of your exam. 4. Don't overstudy the night before Burning the midnight oil the night before is a mistake. It has been scientifically proven to be detrimental to your performance. Give it a final read and go to bed early instead. 5. Relax Have some chamomile infusion the night before, if you're stressed. Don't drink too much coffee/tea in the morning. Relaxation will let you reach the challenge state you need to work out the answers. 6. Read questions carefully Especially true if you are not used to having exams, read the question 2 or more times until you understand all the nuances. I hope this helps and good luck!

I've spoken with way too many football agents without a licence. FIFA is doing a terrible job at explaing agents why they should get one in the first place. So I decided to help FIFA. Here are my 5 reasons why all serious football agents should get a FIFA licence. 1. Credibility and trust Having a FIFA license demonstrates that the agent is acting within the law. It signifies professionalism and competence - enhancing an agent’s reputation. Because he can lose his licence if he does any wrongdoing, it builds trust with players, clubs, and football authorities. 2. Access to official databases and FIFA events Licensed agents gain access to FIFA’s official databases, facilitating player scouting and representation. They can also attend FIFA events, conferences, and workshops, expanding their professional network. 3. Avoids conflicts of interest FIFA-licensed agents follow strict ethical guidelines, minimizing conflicts between their interests and those of players or clubs. They create transparency in the whole transfer ecossystem by preventing illegal practices. 4. Legal recognition and authority FIFA-licensed agents operate within legal frameworks, ensuring legitimacy in their dealings. Because Licensed agents understand contract intricacies, they reach stable and fair agreements for players and clubs. 5. Global reach and market access A FIFA license enables agents to operate internationally, opening doors to the global football market. By the way, if you are still managing your football agency with spreadsheets and computer folders, I've got great news for you: we developed a software to help you manage your agency and you can check it out here.

Whether you are a scout, coach, agent or sports director, there are 6 reasons why you should have a football players watchlist. In football, you never know when you’ll be made redundant – or “sacked” in football jargon. It’s very easy for the top-management to blame someone else for short-term failures. And heads will roll… Independently of who you are, you should create your player list because: 1. You are more valuable Future employers, be it clubs, academies, colleges or agencies will want to know what you bring to the table. Your knowledge is the number one reason the conversation starts in the first place. But what extras do you bring? Maybe some great connections with South American agents or Ghanaian academies? Why not a portfolio of players ready to deploy and hire to fix the current squad’s shortcomings? That is the strategy stellar scouts use. Alongside their jobs, the best scouts always keep their database of players updated just in case. And so do many coaches. 2. Unfair advantage While your competitors are running around at the start of the season because their Striker just left, You already have a shortlist of 3 players to replace your recently injured Centre-back. That will transmit emotional stability and let your staff focus on what really matters – winning the next match. 3. Self-esteem and self-confidence Having a fail-safe plan will give you the natural confidence that comes with knowing you can make mistakes. After all, you have your own database that you maintain without external help. So, you must at least be good at it. 4. Keeps you in the habit of watching football Even when you are not working Or if you are just stuffed with emails and paperwork during week days Having to watch football matches to keep your player shortlist up to date, will keep you in the loop of watching and thinking football. 5. Gives you a headstart When you find a new role, you are not waiting for your President, Sports Director or Chief Scout to tell you how to fill in the gaps in your team. You bring your own contacts, your own players, your own view And can actually start recruiting for certain positions faster. 6. Nurturing relationships Humans are not very rational beings and tend to trust their instincts more than their brains. And for a good reason, right? We are still alive. Therefore, creating strong relationships with players you have on your watchlist is key. One day, you might want to hire them, and they might even have a better offer from another club. But who do they trust the most? Maybe that hire will make the difference between a successful season… … and a terrible one. If you’d like to try out a software that would simplify creating and updating your players database and scout reports, check our current special offer.

If you’re passionate about football and dream of spotting top talent, becoming a football scout might be the perfect role for you. It’s a path that many football enthusiasts aspire to take, but figuring out where to start can be tricky. This post aims to answer the most common questions about breaking into football scouting. Whether you’re curious about the necessary steps, the skills you need, or how to connect with the right people, we’ve got you covered. So, if you’re asking yourself, “How can I become a football scout?” you’re in the right place.

In the world of football scouting, I've talked with over five hundred scouts to understand the really hard truths they face. It's not easy; let me tell you why. First, the hours are all over the place. You never know when you'll be working. And having a stable job? That's when your team does well and has enough money. Lots of traveling sounds fun, but it can mess up your time with family and fun. And there's a big fight to get a scouting job, plus you always have to find great players – that's super tough. But is it all worth it? Well, that's something each person needs to figure out. But even with all the problems, there's something special about it, something that keeps scouts going. Picture this: traveling everywhere to scout for awesome players, making friends with lots of sports people, feeling the excitement when you find a superstar in the making, and just loving being part of the game – something you've loved since you were little. In the world of football scouting, where every game might show off the next big star, the journey is both tricky and fun. And as we go through the ups and downs, one thing is clear – scouting for talent never stops being exciting.

How many millions does an injury cost a football club? 💰 "I said if I wish you good luck it would be a lie," Jurgen Klopp told Mohamed Salah before his departure to Africa Cup of Nations. And rightly so, as Salah has been “ruled out for up to a month” after sustaining hamstring injury. After last years’ experience, where Football injuries costed European leagues €767 million in post-World Cup season (source: Bloomberg) Klopp was worried that the physical and mental strain of Egypt’s stint at the Africa Cup of Nations would bring one of his key players injured. And it did. As presented by Premier Injuries, Salah’s Harmstring injury is the costier and most frequent injury in topflight football. But how much do these injuries cost clubs, taking into account only lost wages? Let’s look at the top 3: Eden Hazard at Real Madrid: - 252 days injured - € 475 000 weekly wage - £ 17 130 000 money lost Philippe Coutinho at FC Barcelona: - 233 days injured - € 475 000 weekly wage - € 15 800 000 money lost Neymar at Paris Saint-German: - 95 days injured - € 1 000 000 weekly wage - € 13 629 980 money lost With these values, it’s no surprise that clubs invest so much in injury prevention. And they should. Preventing injuries is one of the best ways to enhance team performance. And also one of the most cost-effective. I saw this for myself when we helped our partners at Mt. St. Mary’s Women’s soccer team reach their best conference tournament result in program history. By helping them track players’ internal loads, the team did not sustain a single major injury this season. So, remember: take care of your players and they will take care of the rest.

Did you miss the memo? AFCON 2023 is making waves in 2024! Better late than never, right? 🏆 🌍 Quick Recap The 34th edition of Africa Cup of Nations, aka AFCON 2023, was set to sizzle in Ivory Coast for the second time. But guess what? Weather (rainy season, to be more exact) had other plans, so CAF hit the pause button, moving the party to 13 Jan – 11 Feb 2024. 🏆 Defending Champions Senegal, you're still holding the crown! 🇸🇳 🌐 Host Selection Drama Guinea had the gig but danced out of sync, losing the hosting hat to Morocco in 2025. Ivory Coast said, 'Hold my beer' and shifted from 2021 to 2023, and later begged CAF to dodge the rainy season to Jan–Feb 2024. Smart move? 📅 President's Confirmation On January 30, 2019, the CAF Confederation of African Football President and Ivory Coast's head shook hands – the plan was set. Ivory Coast to 2023, and here we are! ⌛ Conclusion Get ready for AFCON 2023 (in 2024)! It's fashionably late, but like they say, better late than never, right ⚽

The World Cup is in flames, the last clashes of the Round of 16 have shown some incredible performances and great displays of strength and character. The competition carries on and so does ScoutDecision's outlook on it. We will go over a few key figures regarding each team's group-stage games for the Portugal v Switzerland clash. Portugal: Portugal's national team finished at the top of their group. However, the last game against Korea ended in an upset for the Portuguese. Now, they face an opponent who is familiar, since they played with them two times in this calendar year alone. The mission for Portugal is to combine tactical discipline and the talent of the squad to make a memorable run. Switzerland: The Swiss beat Serbia in the last game of their group. Their electrifying performance was rewarded with the qualification for the Round of 16 and are looking to capitalize on their good performances against an opponent who they beat in their last clash back in June. Stay tuned for more interesting figures as we head to the decisive rounds of the World Cup!