How an app launched by Danish entrepreneurs will play its part in Southampton’s academy recruitment strategy this summer – and it could be just the start. Adam Bate finds out more about the latest innovation in youth development...
Wednesday 19 April 2023 06:57, UK
On June 4, Southampton will hold a Tonsser Undiscovered trial event at their training ground. It is an opportunity for undiscovered players aged between 13 and 16 to impress and earn a contract at their famed academy. But this particular trial event comes with a twist.
The players have not been cherry-picked by Southampton's own scouting network. Instead, they have been identified through an app. Tonsser, the largest football player app in the world, used by over one million young people in France alone has now truly arrived in English football.
The concept is that players build their own player profile, capturing their performances using stats and video, including goals and assists, and vote for the best performers after each match. In time, a picture emerges of the strongest players in the user group. It is leading to careers.
Founded in Denmark in 2014, Tonsser has had its most notable successes in France, where the majority of the 1.6 million users are based. In 2021, a Tonsser United team, made up of unsigned youth players selected through the app, drew against Paris Saint-Germain's U15 side. They beat Fulham, Rennes and Lille. It underlined Tonsser's ability to identify high-potential players.
Southampton are a natural partner. Sport Republic has an 80 per cent stake in the club and has since invested in Tonsser. Rasmus Ankersen, CEO of Sport Republic and director of football at Southampton, is an enthusiastic advocate of innovation and sees the possibility of creating 'the world's largest feeder club' with Tonsser.
He is not alone. Brentford owner Matthew Benham is now an investor. Bees midfielder Christian Norgaard too. Those within football instinctively appreciate that the difference between the multi-million-pound asset and the kid in the playground can be gossamer thin. Young players need alternative opportunities.
Even so, it takes a leap of the imagination to believe that an app fuelled by its users can provide insight that traditional scouting cannot. But this is a numbers games. The wisdom of crowds can prevail. And besides, Saints are keen to stress this is an addition not a replacement.
Gareth Hamer, recruitment manager at Southampton for ages seven to 16, is keen to temper expectations but admits the potential is exciting. "It is an opportunity for us to unearth those players we may have missed with our current scouting structure or just not seen," he tells Sky Sports.
"It is natural that you will not have been able to see some players. The age-old way of live scouting, it is only one scout going to one game at a weekend. Even if you multiply that by one hundred, if the scout is not in your postcode, not at your game, you are not getting seen.
"This is a way of putting all that information in our hands rather than us relying on someone happening to be there. I guess that is the power of social media. Even though the game is much bigger now, everything is much closer. It can be in the palm of your hand so to speak."
Through Tonsser's rating system, the talent almost reveals itself. "Good players know good players," adds Hamer. "Of course, there is always going to be bias. You are my friend so you vote for me and I will vote for you. You cannot avoid that. But the community corrects itself.
"They will say, this winger or that left-back, he is the quickest player I have seen. That will help us because we can utilise the community. Where else can you have that? We have data for 18-year-old players but with younger players it is very hard. You are getting access to that."
Hamer attended a recent showcase event in Paris along with scouts from a list of clubs that included Ajax, AC Milan and Marseille. He was impressed by the level of talent but also the type of talent on display. "You can clearly see how the model works because there are types of players who stand out. There are players who are different and different can be better."
The hope is that for Paris read London, where the Tonsser app is particularly popular. Southampton are close enough to be able to bring young players from the capital into their academy without breaching EPPP regulations. "There is that natural pot of talent," explains Hamer.
"It gives us the opportunity to tap into that market. Given the size of London, it is a chance to access players we have not seen before." Players nobody may have seen before. "Some maybe did not play at an early age, maybe did not play league football, maybe have not had the opportunities."
There is an understanding that any players identified may need to be brought up to speed. "There will be players who have not had the same contact time [with coaches]. But the exciting part is seeing players of potential. It is about seeing where they are now and where they could be."
Is there a blueprint for the Southampton player? What exactly are they looking for? "There are always going to be certain types of player that we are interested in, positionally and behaviourally. Maybe they are playing in midfield but we see a different profile for them."
The key is to be open-minded. It could be a goalkeeper or a striker, a 13-year-old or a 16-year-old. There may be nobody suitable. Or they all could be. "You could come away with none, one or five. It will depend." But Tonsser have not yet done a showcase at which players were not signed.
In fact, in some cases, 40 per cent of the players have been signed. At the recent showcase in Paris, both PSG and Caen picked up players. Then there is the example of Alexis Kabamba who played for Tonsser United before winning the European U17 Championship last year with France.
In Germany, a Tonsser Undiscovered trial led to Ingolstadt signing Merlin Rohl, an amateur player who had been using the app to track his stats in the fourth tier of regional football in Berlin. Now a Germany U20 international, he moved to Freiburg for €3m in August.
With plans for a larger event in England later in the year that will involve multiple clubs, there is confidence at Tonsser that, with their concept proven, this is just the start for them in the richest market of them all. Everyone believes that the talent is out there. It is just waiting to be found.
"We are looking forward to working with them and hopefully what they have done in Paris can be replicated in London here," says Hamer. The preliminary screening process begins in London in May. By June, Southampton expect to have signed a young player discovered on an app.
