Read the deliverables before categorising the role. A first-team analyst, a technical scout and a data engineer can all work with player information, but their immediate problems—and therefore their supplier requirements—are different. (teamworkonline.com)
| Employer and role | Typical work in the specific advertisement | Pay evidence | Status and buyer interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nashville SC — Data Analyst | Answer sporting and recruitment questions; produce match reports; analyse event, tracking-derived and physical data; maintain reproducible Python workflows. Reports to Head of Analytics. | No salary disclosed. | Application page visible. Interpretation: delivery capacity across several sporting users, not exclusively player recruitment. (teamworkonline.com) |
| Sporting Kansas City — Data Engineer | Build and maintain pipelines, schemas, databases and APIs; combine external providers with club systems; support production deployment of models. | No employer salary verified. | Closed originating page; responsibilities preserved in a syndicated advert. Interpretation: integration and reliability investment, not proof of additional feed purchases. (sportsjobs.online) |
| Utah Royals — Technical Scout | Identify, assess and grade targets; maintain scouting reports; combine video, live observation and data. The advert allocates approximately 50% of the role to video scouting. | No employer salary disclosed; the archive’s wage estimate is excluded. | Archive records 28 January–25 February 2026. Interpretation: demand for women’s-football assessment capacity and usable footage. (career.com) |
| San Diego FC — First Team Scout | Identify global professional and amateur talent using live/video observation, research, data and relationships within the Right to Dream context. | $70,000–$85,000 a year, reported by Futboljobs; not reverified from the now-closed original advert. | Secondary advert dated 21 September 2026; originating page closed. Treat pay as a secondary-source comparator. (futboljobs.com) |
| NYCFC — First Team Performance Analyst | Record and organise footage, tag clips, maintain performance records, support opposition analysis and manage analysis technology. Requires four-plus years’ relevant experience. | $70,000–$75,000 annual base salary, employer-stated. | Application page visible. This is predominantly performance and opposition analysis—not a dedicated player-acquisition role. (teamworkonline.com) |
| FC Cincinnati — Data Analyst Intern | Support the Lead Data Scientist with match reports, opposition analysis and event/tracking-data projects. | Paid; rate not disclosed. | Application page visible for February–April 2027, averaging 15 hours a week. This is future, limited-duration capacity—not a full-time recruitment hire. (job-boards.greenhouse.io) |
Does a data-engineering hire mean the club wants another API?
Not necessarily. Sporting Kansas City’s engineering specification centres on making multiple sources accessible and reliable within a central platform. That supports a hypothesis of infrastructure work; it does not distinguish between integrating new providers and making better use of existing ones. (sportsjobs.online)
Recommended response: run a Player Data Joinability Check before purchasing another feed. Ask the prospective supplier to demonstrate identifier continuity, documented fields, update behaviour and an authorised export using the club’s own sample—not simply provide an API demonstration.
Does an analyst hire imply enough capacity to run a supplier trial?
Do not assume it. Nashville’s specification combines short-turnaround requests, recurring match reporting and longer projects. FC Cincinnati’s internship has a small weekly time allocation and a defined term. Both examples make evaluator availability a question to confirm rather than infer. (teamworkonline.com)
For a same-shortlist supplier trial, assign a named evaluator and protected hours before inviting vendors. If capacity is unavailable, reduce the trial to one consequential recruitment question or defer the purchase; do not compensate by relying on a polished demonstration.
Sources cited on this page
- teamworkonline.comwww.teamworkonline.com
- sportsjobs.onlinewww.sportsjobs.online
- career.comwww.career.com
- futboljobs.comfutboljobs.com
- teamworkonline.comwww.teamworkonline.com
- job-boards.greenhouse.iojob-boards.greenhouse.io