{
  "id": 3410205,
  "title": "'The data will always override': How AI is helping Al Kholood outsmart Saudi Pro League’s big spenders",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/the-data-will-always-override-how-ai-is-helping-al-kholood-outsmart",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-08-26T02:58:47.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The National Business",
    "slug": "the-national-business",
    "url": "https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2026/08/26/the-data-will-always-override-how-ai-is-helping-al-kholood-outsmart-saudi-pro-leagues-big-spenders/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing football scouting, enabling predictive models to search hundreds of leagues and project player performance in different environments. Uefa regards this technology as transformative in identifying and evaluating talent. Al Kholood, a Saudi Pro League club with limited financial resources, believes this technology will help them compete against larger clubs. Gareth Jennings, the group sporting director of Al Kholood, explains that they use Teamworks Player ID to find undervalued players whose projected performance aligns with their squad's needs. Jennings emphasizes that any player falling outside their data metrics will not be considered. The club recently secured their first King's Cup final spot, but they have faced competition from seven other Saudi Pro League clubs in the current transfer window. Teamworks Player ID, a predictive model developed by Rich Byrne, covers over 200 leagues and analyzes performance across 100,000 players, adjusting for the standard of competition and team styles. The technology aims to predict a player's three-year output, addressing the challenge of accurately assessing adaptability to different coaching styles. While Jennings acknowledges that human judgment remains crucial, he firmly believes that data will always override in performance-related decisions. Teamworks has refined its model over 22 transfer windows, but Byrne warns that naive models built without sufficient validation can lead to poor recruitment decisions. The technology is not a silver bullet, but it significantly improves a club's transfer success rate, which currently stands at less than 50 percent. Byrne believes that the industry may soon shift back to valuing squad quality over specific playing styles, as shorter managerial tenures make adaptable players more valuable.",
  "summary": "Artificial intelligence is widening football’s scouting map. Predictive models can search hundreds of leagues and project how a player might perform somewhere else. Uefa now regards the technology as reshaping how talent is identified and evaluated. At Al Kholood, a Saudi Pro League club with far less spending power than the division’s giants, this technology, they believe, ensures they can…",
  "key_points": [
    "AI technology helps Al Kholood compete with larger clubs in Saudi Pro League.",
    "Teamworks Player ID analyzes performance across 100,000 players in 200+ leagues.",
    "Data-driven decisions will always override human judgment in performance-related selections."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The National UAE",
        "title": "'The data will always override': How AI is helping Al Kholood outsmart Saudi Pro League’s big spenders",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/the-data-will-always-override-how-ai-is-helping-al-kholood-outsmart-3411611",
        "published": "2026-08-26T02:58:47.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}