Some of you might have twigged but for those who didn’t this was just a litte jest for the day that is in it. But it does have a ring of the possible about it…
Drogheda United is to become the first League of Ireland club to trial a fully AI-led academy recruitment system, replacing traditional in-person trials with a data-driven selection process.
The initiative, developed in collaboration with the FAI, the Football Association of Czechia and European sports analytics firm Playermetrics AI, forms part of a wider project internally codenamed “Mentira”.
Under the new model, players will no longer attend open trial days. Instead, they will upload match footage and complete a series of standardised skill challenges, with the AI system generating a “Player Potential Score”, positional suitability profile, and projected development ceiling.
Shortlists for academy intake will be produced entirely by the system, with coaching staff reviewing final selections within parameters set by the algorithm.
“This is about supporting better decision-making and widening the net in terms of talent identification,” said a Drogheda United academy spokesperson. “There are players who, for a variety of reasons, may never attend a traditional trial day. This allows us to assess ability in a more consistent and accessible way, while also reducing some of the unconscious bias that can exist in recruitment.”
The platform is also understood to generate a live “First-Team Readiness Window” for each player, forecasting when individuals are most likely to make the transition to senior football, with updates provided throughout the season.
Players selected into the academy will receive individual development plans generated by the system, including tailored training loads, tactical benchmarks, and automated feedback following each game.
A parent-facing dashboard is also in development, offering insights into player progression, comparative rankings within the academy, and projected career pathways across different league levels.
The pilot programme will run for one year initially, with findings expected to inform wider discussions across the League of Ireland on the role of artificial intelligence in player development.
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