Welcome to SFA ScoutLAB – V3- 2026 – Video Scouting Education Program

MODULE 2 - 8 WEEKS

Module 2 – Information

Reports & Main Focus

Welcome to Module 2.

Having completed the internal benchmarking process in Module 1, your focus now shifts towards external player identification, market screening, and recruitment profiling.

Throughout the next 8 weeks, you will work exclusively within one selected focus league:

• Danish 1st Division
• Swedish Superettan
• Norwegian OBOS-ligaen

Your chosen league will become your primary scouting market, and all observations, reports, player recommendations, and recruitment work should be built around developing a deep understanding of that specific competition.

The objective is no longer simply to understand your own environment.

The objective is to identify players who could potentially strengthen your benchmarking club.

Module 2 is not only about watching matches and writing reports.

Participants are expected to actively contribute to discussions, observations, player recommendations, and recruitment debates within the ScoutLAB WhatsApp group throughout the module.

The learning environment extends beyond the matches you watch yourself. Learning from other scouts, challenging ideas, and discussing players are all important parts of the development process.

From Benchmarking to Recruitment

Module 1 focused on understanding “home”.

Module 2 focuses on understanding the market.

As scouts, identifying talent is not enough. You must understand:

• Which players fit your club
• Which players fit specific positions
• Which players fit the playing style
• Which players represent realistic recruitment opportunities

Throughout this module, you are expected to demonstrate a higher level of detail, stronger observations, and clearer recruitment logic than in Module 1.

The quality standard increases significantly.

From Watching Games to Solving Problems

One of the biggest shifts in Module 2 is moving from observation to recruitment problem-solving.

Professional scouts are rarely judged by how many matches they watch.

They are judged by their ability to identify solutions.

A club may need:

• A future replacement for a starting player
• More competition in a specific position
• A different player profile
• Greater squad balance
• Long-term succession planning

Your role is to identify potential solutions and support your recommendations with evidence.

Throughout this module, challenge yourself to think beyond individual player performances.

Ask yourself:

“Could this player improve my benchmarking club?”

“Why?”

“Compared to who?”

“What specific problem does this player solve?”

The strongest scouts are not necessarily those who watch the most football.

They are the ones who connect observations with recruitment decisions.

Shadow Teams

A key component of Module 2 is the creation and continuous development of Shadow Teams.

Your Shadow Team should consist of players identified within your focus league who could potentially strengthen your benchmarking club.

The purpose is to create a realistic recruitment overview by position and build your own shortlist of players worth following.

Your Shadow Team should evolve throughout the module as new players emerge and existing assessments are challenged.

Good scouting is not about being right the first time.

Good scouting is about continuously refining your understanding.

By the end of Module 2, your Shadow Team should provide a realistic picture of how you would strengthen your benchmarking club if recruitment decisions had to be made tomorrow.

Player Cards

In addition to weekly reporting, you will begin producing Player Cards on the most interesting players identified within your focus league.

The purpose of the Player Card is to communicate a player’s profile clearly and efficiently.

Each Player Card should provide the reader with a clear understanding of:

• Playing position
• Playing style
• Key strengths
• Development areas
• Potential level
• Recruitment suitability
• Overall scouting recommendation

The objective is not simply to describe the player.

The objective is to help decision-makers understand whether the player is worth pursuing.

A good Player Card should allow a coach, sporting director, recruitment manager, or scout to quickly understand both the player and the recruitment opportunity.

Raising the Standard

Module 2 requires a significant increase in quality and detail.

Compared to Module 1, you should focus on:

• Stronger supporting evidence
• More detailed observations
• Clearer descriptions
• Better player comparisons
• Improved recruitment reasoning
• More concise and professional writing

Your reports should increasingly resemble the work produced within professional scouting and recruitment departments.

The expectation is that your observations become more precise, your conclusions more confident, and your recommendations more actionable.

This is where you begin transitioning from learning scouting principles to applying them in a professional recruitment context.

Match Requirements & Workload

As throughout the program, participants are expected to complete a minimum of four matches per week.

This requirement should be viewed as a guideline and minimum expectation rather than a limitation.

Participants who wish to invest additional time are strongly encouraged to do so.

Many scouts will naturally find themselves watching:

• 5 matches per week
• 6 matches per week
• 8 or more matches per week

The more players, teams, and situations you observe, the stronger your understanding of the market becomes.

However, quality will always be more important than quantity.

Watching eight matches without detailed observations creates less value than watching four matches with focus, structure, and clear recruitment thinking.

The objective is not to collect matches.

The objective is to build knowledge.

Every match should contribute to:

• Your league understanding
• Your Shadow Team
• Your Player Cards
• Your recruitment recommendations
• Your understanding of player profiles and positional needs

Report Submission & Personal Database

All reports continue to be submitted through Google Forms.

Following submission:

• You will receive a copy of every report
• Reports will continue to be added to your personal scouting database
• Your database will continue growing throughout the program

The objective is to create a personal scouting archive that reflects your development, observations, player recommendations, and recruitment thinking.

Over time, this becomes one of the most valuable tools in your scouting workflow.

Feedback & Knowledge Sharing

During Module 2, feedback will continue to be group-based through WhatsApp.

Active participation is expected from all participants.

ScoutLAB is built around more than individual match observations. The program is designed to create discussion, challenge perspectives, and expose participants to different ways of seeing the game.

Participants are expected to contribute regularly by:

• Sharing observations from matches
• Discussing interesting players and teams
• Presenting recruitment thoughts and ideas
• Asking questions
• Challenging opinions respectfully
• Contributing to discussions initiated by fellow participants

The WhatsApp group should be viewed as an extension of the learning environment.

Some of the most valuable learning opportunities come from understanding why another scout sees the game differently than you do.

There is no expectation that everyone agrees.

There is an expectation that everyone contributes.

The quality of the group discussions will directly influence the quality of the learning experience.

Individual feedback is not part of this phase.

Instead, participants are encouraged to learn through reflection, discussion, debate, and exposure to different scouting perspectives.

Final Objective

By the end of Module 2, you should have developed:

• A strong understanding of your chosen league
• A credible and well-constructed Shadow Team
• A collection of Player Cards
• A shortlist of realistic recruitment targets
• Improved recruitment reasoning
• A more professional scouting methodology

Most importantly:

You should be able to explain not only who the best players are.

But why they matter.

And how they could improve your benchmarking club.

Enjoy the games.

Challenge your assumptions.

Trust your eyes.

And continue building your scouting identity.

MODULE 1 - 8 WEEKS

Module 1 – Information

Reports & Main Focus

In Week 1 of Module 1, your focus is your own benchmarking team – a club from the Danish Superliga.

Each benchmarking team is preparing for the summer transfer window, closing at the end of August 2026. Throughout Module 1, your role is to build the knowledge base and benchmark required to support this process.

The objective is not only to understand external player levels-but first and foremost to fully understand your own environment.

Across the first 8 weeks, you will work towards building a clear picture of:

  • Your first team
  • The league level your team competes in
  • Your U19 squad and league level
  • Your U17 squad

A key principle in this module is:

Strong recruitment starts with a deep understanding of your own players.

Knowing your first team-and especially the players within your oldest academy groups – is essential for effective future squad planning.

By the end of Module 1, you should have a solid understanding of your internal level (“home”), creating the foundation for all external benchmarking and recruitment decisions.

Building Your Benchmark

To support this, you will:

  • Watch four matches involving your benchmarking team
  • Complete screening reports on starting players from both teams
  • Apply different reporting models throughout the module

This process helps you establish a clear performance benchmark, while constantly relating external observations back to your own team and internal player pool.

Reporting Models – Weeks 1-8

Throughout the first 8 weeks of Module 1, you will be introduced to different reporting models, each designed to develop your ability to observe, evaluate, and prioritise players.

All models are based on your own assessment—what you see, not external opinions.

You will work with three core formats:

A: Start 11 – Own Internal Evaluation

  • Full evaluation of the starting XI
  • Focus on both performance and potential
  • Always assessed in relation to your own team, internal players, and benchmark level

B: Top 3 – Best Three Players (Your Eyes)

  • Identify the three standout players in a match
  • Based purely on your visual assessment and judgement
  • Focus on clarity and prioritisation

C: Top 6 – Best Six Players (Your Eyes)

  • Identify the six most impactful players across both teams
  • Requires stronger selection criteria and structured thinking

Across all models, the focus is on developing:

  • Your ability to identify quality
  • Your decision-making in player selection
  • Your consistency in evaluation

During this phase, potential is always assessed relative to your own environment-your first team, your academy players, and your league level.

The goal is to build a clear understanding of:

What is good enough for your team-and what is not.

Note-Taking & Observation: “Paint a Picture”

A core skill in this phase is learning how to describe players clearly and effectively.

You will combine:

  • Sharp buzzwords
  • Detailed observations

Your goal is to “paint a picture” of each player:

  • Style of play
  • Behaviour and tendencies
  • Strengths, weaknesses, and identity

This is not just analysis-it’s about helping the reader visualise the player on the pitch.

Position-Specific KPIs: Your Working Document

You will complete a position-specific KPI assignment, where you:

  • Choose a formation based on your benchmarking team
  • Define 3-5 key KPIs per position
  • Align your choices with your team’s playing style and demands

This PowerPoint will act as a living document throughout the program.

As your understanding grows, you are expected to:

  • Adjust
  • Refine
  • Challenge your own thinking

By the end, you will have a custom KPI framework tailored to your team-useful for both current and future scouting work.

Submission

Submit your KPI assignment via email:

ksa@sharpfocusadvisory.com

File name format:
YYYY-MM-DD Position Specific KPIs Overview – Club Name – Your Name

Example:
2025-08-24 Position Specific KPIs Overview – Vejle Boldklub – Kenneth Santa

Introduction to Video Scouting

You will be introduced to structured video scouting, where your role is to:

  • Observe through a scouting lens
  • Identify what truly matters for each position
  • Capture insights clearly and efficiently

Always evaluate players within their context:

  • Age
  • League level
  • Country

And importantly:

  • Compare them to your own internal level

The goal is to develop a reliable framework for assessing quality—both externally and internally.

Report Submission & Personal Database

All reports are submitted via Google Forms.

To stay efficient:

  • Develop your own note-taking structure
  • Adapt previous templates to match your workflow

After submission:

  • You’ll receive a copy of each report

At the end of each month:

  • Your reports will be compiled into a personal online database
  • Allowing you to track your progress and development

First update: Early February 2026 (after Week 8).

After completing Module 1, you will also be given access to your own scouting database (Google Sheets), provided by the instructor.
This will serve as your personal working tool moving forward—helping you organise, track, and build on your scouting insights throughout the rest of the program and beyond.

Feedback

During Module 1 and Module 2 (Weeks 1–16):

  • Feedback will be group-based (WhatsApp)
  • Active participation is expected:
    • Reflect
    • Discuss
    • Challenge ideas

Individual feedback is not part of this phase.

This program requires:

  • Time
  • Commitment
  • Consistency

Your progression will reflect the work you invest.

Final Note

Understand your own level first.
Everything else builds from there.

Enjoy the games – and the learning that follows.

INSPIRATION

FINAL SCOUTING CASE - EXAM PRESENTATIONS

NB: Video presentations, is not to be shared.

INSPIRATION - JORDY MOTTART, HEAD OF ACADEMY SCOUTING & RECRUITMENT, ROYAL ANTWERP FC - 2024

NB: Video presentation, is not to be shared.