November 20 – West Ham United have moved to place themselves at the front of football’s data-arms race, striking a three-way partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and AI specialists Crayon to build what is being positioned as football’s first fully end-to-end generative-AI scouting platform.
In a global talent economy increasingly defined by who can process the most information the fastest, the collaboration signals a decisive shift: recruitment as a data-industrial operation rather than a series of hunches, favours and fragmented intel.
For AWS and Crayon, the deal marks a flagship project and the start of what could be a game-changing expansion into the Premier League. West Ham, meanwhile, will be given the tools to turn their “Academy of Football” heritage into a modern edge in a transfer market that has moved beyond old methods.
The new platform – built on Amazon SageMaker and Amazon Bedrock – says it will combine machine learning, predictive modelling and generative-AI querying to ingest, analyse and benchmark player data from around the world.
West Ham’s scouts will still have all the duties they had before, but this time armed with a system capable of sorting through thousands of players, surfacing patterns, and stress-testing assumptions in no time at all.
Maximilian Hahn, West Ham’s Head of Technical Recruitment & Analysis, said the system is being designed to reshape how decisions are made: “The platform we are developing using AI and machine learning builds comprehensive models to evaluate players across multiple dimensions – performance, playing style, team dynamics, age, experience, and financial fit – ensuring recruitment aligns with team goals.
“By automating and streamlining these processes, we can analyse vast datasets across markets and efficiently identify top talent, making player selection more strategic, consistent, and future-focused.”
For West Ham’s hierarchy, the draw is clear: better long-term squad planning, fewer costly misfires, and a recruitment process that can compete with clubs operating on far larger budgets.
Executive Director Nathan Thompson framed the collaboration as both a commercial and cultural statement: “This collaboration marks a significant milestone for West Ham United, as we put ourselves at the forefront of innovation by working alongside AWS and Crayon, both industry global leaders.
“To have an AI-powered talent identification platform solely tailored to our scouting and recruitment needs will ensure we continue our proud heritage of attracting exciting talent to London Stadium. This groundbreaking announcement highlights our commitment to utilising innovation on and off the pitch to achieve our goals.”
Crayon, which has delivered several Bundesliga AI projects, sees the partnership as a natural next step in football’s evolution. Tim Ellefsen, VP of Public Cloud at Crayon, said: “Building on successful AI projects in the German Bundesliga, we are committed to pushing the boundaries of what this technology can achieve. This collaboration between ourselves, AWS, and West Ham is a testament to our dedication to innovation and excellence.
AWS framed the deal within a broader shift in the sporting sector. Joe Carroll, UK Head of Telco, Media, Entertainment, Games and Sports at AWS, said: “The world’s top sports organisations are increasingly using AWS to build data-driven solutions and reinvent the way sports are experienced, played, and managed. We’re proud to collaborate with West Ham and Crayon on this platform, which will revolutionise both talent scouting within the club and the business of football.”
If it delivers on its promise, West Ham will emerge with one of the most advanced recruitment infrastructures in the sport – a system designed not to replace their scouts, but to widen their field of vision.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1763636723labto1763636723ofdlr1763636723owedi1763636723sni@g1763636723niwe.1763636723yrrah1763636723
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