Episode 13

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Published on:

17th May 2025

Ep13: How to Work With AI Like a Football Recruitment Analyst, Not Like a Casual User

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Episode Summary:

In this episode, Tom and David dive deep into how AI, particularly large language models like ChatGPT, can be integrated professionally into the football recruitment process. It's not about asking vague questions and hoping for magic — it’s about treating your AI assistant like a valued member of your recruitment team.

The duo discuss the critical difference between casual and professional use of AI, highlighting prompt engineering, context-building, and the anatomy of a strong prompt. They explain how these tools, when used correctly, can drastically improve efficiency and decision-making in scouting and recruitment.

And the big announcement? The Football Insights “War Room” experience — a live, interactive, small-group simulation of a professional club's recruitment process. You’ll go from defining a club’s identity and playing style, all the way through to player valuation and transfer decision-making using real data and AI-supported tools. It’s hands-on learning for anyone serious about working in football recruitment.

🔍 Topics Covered:

  • Why most people misuse AI like a search engine — and how to do it better
  • How to brief AI tools like you'd brief a real Head of Recruitment
  • The anatomy of a high-quality prompt in football analysis
  • The importance of structured, context-rich input for meaningful output
  • What makes the War Room such a unique and powerful learning experience
  • How prompt templates will guide learners through real-world scenarios

💡 Key Takeaways:

  • AI in football isn’t a replacement — it’s an amplifier when used with clarity and precision
  • Good prompts = good insights. Vague prompts = wasted time
  • Real recruitment decisions are layered with complexity: style of play, budgets, coach philosophy, data filtering, and scouting
  • The War Room will simulate this entire process, allowing participants to learn by doing, just like real football departments do.

🎯 Who This Episode Is For:

  • Aspiring scouts, analysts, and recruitment professionals
  • Coaches curious about data-driven recruitment processes
  • Football students or early-career professionals wanting to future-proof their skillset
  • Anyone eager to use AI properly in a football context


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About the Podcast

A.I. In Football
Recruitment Decisions, Done Properly.
AI in Football: Recruitment Decisions, Done Properly is a practical podcast about how football clubs make better recruitment decisions in an AI world — without the hype.

We don’t chase novelty tools. We focus on the thinking and structure that makes any tool useful: clear role briefs, behaviours over labels, constraints and trade-offs, repeatable shortlisting, and decision review that actually improves the process.

Each episode gives you something you can use:

- Role Definition Templates (behaviour-based, not position labels)

- Question sets that lead to better shortlists

- Meeting Structures that stop recruitment becoming a persuasion contest

- Simple Ways to Stress-Test Decisions (“what would make this wrong?”)

- How AI Fits Safely: drafting, checking, standardising outputs — never replacing judgement

If you work in recruitment, scouting, analysis, coaching, or you’re aiming to, this show is for you. Clarity First. Tools Second.
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About your hosts

Thomas Butterfield

Profile picture for Thomas Butterfield
I'm a very approachable obsessive learner who is always interested in the stories of others, and how that information and experience can be used to help others move the needle of their life in a positive direction.

As a result of the work I do adults and younger people understand the importance of being an active participant in their own health.

The result of this is we at Elevate Health Chiropractic and Wellbeing are putting better educated individuals into the community who are making better health decisions for themselves and those they care for the most.
They move better, they eat better, they think better.

They Feel Better.

We are always looking to work with and help individuals and organisations who value their own health, that of their family, or their staff high enough to take that next step with Elevate Health, Chiropractic and Wellbeing.

David Bromley

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For the last fifteen years I have applied my analytical, systems-evaluation and financial background to the football industry.

As a long-term student of the game I hold coaching badges from the English Football Association and am a certified member of the Professional Football Scouts Association.

I hold distinctions in the Prozone (STATS) Professional Performance Analysis/ Performance Data & Recruitment Certificates Levels 1,2 & 3 in addition to being an F.A. Registered Intermediary.

My experience in football has enabled me to view player recruitment from the 'sharp end' and allows me to tailor my service to meet clients' best interests.