Professional clubs will now be able to use information from the computer game series Football Manager to scout and recruit players after the developer struck a deal with Prozone Sports.
Sports Interactive -- who created the series -- will provide data to be incorporated into Prozone RECRUITER, an online analysis platform designed to help clubs in the recruitment process.
.@SI_games announce agreement with @ProzoneSports. Read more: http://t.co/2r5EoBkPqT pic.twitter.com/OgQsMVzFsM
- Football Manager (@FootballManager) August 11, 2014
The developers have over 1300 scouts across the globe to gather information and have built a large database over the last two decades, with the latest game in the series -- Football Manager 2014 -- nominated for a BAFTA in the Best Sports Game category.
This new link between @FootballManager and @prozonesports means that I can now officially play Football Manager and call it 'research'.
- Iain Macintosh (@iainmacintosh) August 11, 2014
"For years we've heard stories of real-life managers and scouts using our data to help with the recruitment process," Sports Interactive Studio Director Miles Jacobson said on Monday.
"From now on, it's official... real managers around the world will be finding and comparing players using data and a search system that will be very familiar to players of Football Manager.
"The information gathered by our network of more than 1300 scouts around the world, combined with Prozone's amazing performance data, makes this an invaluable tool for any football club that takes player recruitment seriously."#INSERT type:inline END#
Prozone CEO Thomas Schmider believes that the recruiting power which will be available to clubs will allow them to narrow their search for transfer targets in the future.
"Prozone RECRUITER has been built to supplement the intuition of scouts and coaches by delivering detailed performance information on over 80,000 players worldwide," Schmider said. "It's not a one-size-fits-all solution, instead it's been designed to empower clubs to tailor its functionality to suit their own unique recruitment requirements.
"The Sports Interactive database is a highly accurate and valuable resource that will further enhance the recruitment services that we provide.
"Complementing our exhaustive technical data and video footage with excellent biographical, contractual and positional information, the integration of Sports Interactive data further establishes RECRUITER as the most comprehensive recruitment and asset management platform available."#INSERT type:inline END#