Touchline Signal — Soccer scouting research
Share your expertise
Scorecard

How should an MLS or NWSL club verify coverage?

Touchline Signal research deskSection 09Page 8 of 17Last updated 3 Nov 2026
A soccer pitch with carefully maintained turf

Audit competition–season–evidence combinations, not league logos. Require a dated availability inventory and test the exact entitlements offered to the club.

A usable NWSL Recruitment Coverage Gap Map should include:

Competition and season Expected eligible matches Required full-match video Required event fields Tracking/physical data if needed Player history Delivery deadline Entitled and tested?
NWSL: specify season Enter denominator Test Test Test or not required Test Specify Record evidence
NCAA Division I women: specify season and scope Enter denominator Test Test Test or not required Test Specify Record evidence
WSL: specify season Enter denominator Test Test Test or not required Test Specify Record evidence
Liga F: specify season Enter denominator Test Test Test or not required Test Specify Record evidence
Liga MX Femenil: specify tournament/season Enter denominator Test Test Test or not required Test Specify Record evidence

These rows are evaluation targets, not claims that a particular supplier covers them. For an MLS purchase, substitute the club’s priority domestic and international competition–season combinations.

Use these proposed measures:

  • Video completeness: usable required full-match recordings ÷ eligible completed matches in scope.
  • Data completeness: matches containing the required dataset ÷ eligible completed matches in scope.
  • Task-usable coverage: matches meeting all evidence requirements for the task ÷ eligible completed matches in scope.
  • Field completeness: valid required values ÷ records on which the field should exist.
  • Delivery latency: time from the agreed match-end reference to availability of usable evidence.

Freeze the denominator and cutoff date. Identify postponed, cancelled, abandoned and not-yet-played fixtures separately. Do not count an legitimately inapplicable field as missing, and do not count a null as zero performance.

Where only a sample is inspected, report sample completeness, not whole-competition completeness. Publish counts as well as percentages and disaggregate by competition, season and evidence type. A high aggregate should not conceal failure in the club’s most important market.

What extra checks should women’s recruitment include?

Test player identity continuity across name changes and transfers, historical depth, required match footage, consistent field availability and the relevance of comparison populations. Include low-minute players and less prominent teams rather than only highly visible internationals.

SkillCorner’s women-specific methodology changes illustrate why metric definitions belong in the audit: its published examples use different physical thresholds for women’s comparisons. That is a supplier-described methodology, not independent proof of accuracy or suitability for an NWSL club. (skillcorner.com)

For NCAA recruitment, avoid an outdated “NWSL draft ranking” specification. The NWSLPA’s current CBA page confirms abolition of the draft. Assess identification and recruitment needs under the applicable acquisition framework instead. (nwslplayers.com)

Sources cited on this page

  1. skillcorner.comskillcorner.com
  2. nwslplayers.comwww.nwslplayers.com
Download research