On every season break, football enthusiasts from all over the world focus their attention on the transfer market. Watching players move from a club to another brings certain pleasure for football fans, especially if the team they support participates in the transfer window. Because journey to win the league starts from a win on the transfer window.
A transfer market is a place for players to get acknowledged by clubs of their quality, especially for players who have just 'graduated' from football academies.
Every year football academies of various clubs produce tens to hundreds of young players. For those who are talented, finding a club wouldn't be a problem. But what about players who don't stand out?
The market for football players is far from efficient because of asymmetric information and barrier to entry. Football clubs don't really know about players they are trying to recruit, they don't even know where to look. They rely much on intermediaries who often get paid too much just because they have information.
On the other side, young players also don't know how to get acknowledged by clubs. They also rely much on intermediaries to find a club. That's why middlemen in this market get a large slice of the pie because both of clubs and players rely on them to make a deal.
But it's not that easy to be football intermediaries. They also face the same problem as clubs when it comes to finding specific players. Clubs usually need players with specific skills to strengthen their squad, and it's not easy to find such players.
Online Network as a Solution
To make the market for football players more efficient, Fieldoo offers an online network solution. It wants to do what LinkedIn does with the jobs market: make it more efficient by reducing transaction cost.
"I don't say all agents are bad. I think agents do their part, especially if they resolve a player's life situation. Transfers are an $8 billion-a-year market, but almost $1 billion goes to agents. I don't believe their part is that big." ~Klemen Hosta
Klemen Hosta, the founder of Fieldoo, created the platform to give the opportunity for less privileged footballers to land trials at clubs across the globe. He said thousands of players don't have agents, or know how to get one.
These are what Fieldoo offers for players, intermediaries, and clubs.
What Fieldoo does is actually simple. It creates interactions between players, intermediaries, and clubs through its online platform. Registered football clubs can choose from a list of existing players with certain specifications then contact players directly or through intermediaries.
On the platform, players can upload their CV and a video link as supporting material. If you can't make the video yourself, the Fieldoo team also offers video editing services. Fieldoo also provides a feature of recording statistics for paid users.
In collaboration with the clubs, Fieldoo often held trials for players who are looking for a club. A trial is an opportunity for players to show their skills in front of coaches and scouts. Of course, the trial is not free. There are a number of prices that must be paid by the participant both for accommodation and entrance fees to take part in the trial.
When the club is matched with the player, the contract will be done by the player's agent. Interestingly, if the player doesn't have an agent yet, he/she can also find agents on the site. Of course, agents who can be contacted are agents who have registered with Fieldoo and with football associations in their respective country.
In short, Fieldoo is a marketplace for football players. It eases clubs to find players and eases players to find clubs. Klemen Hosta described how Fieldoo actually works with this testimony.
"A League Two coach gave us all sorts of conditions and 24 hours to find a goalkeeper. I put this into the Fieldoo market for goalkeepers and, in 20 hours, 35 keepers applied and all were better than League Two standard."
With Fieldoo, you have the opportunity to become a professional football player. Just upload your CV, video link, and statistical records. Maybe some agents or clubs will be interested and contact you.
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