African market is undeniably rich in football talent. Unfortunately, having its own challenges before, the pandemic made it deteriorate almost into oblivion. COVID-19 has changed the football landscape forever. European clubs are no longer active in Africa as they used to be. They are suffocating from tight financial burden, and being on the breach of insolvency, have no intention to go and scout the players on the continent any more.

Wise decision? Not really. Despite the challenges, it’s the best time to change the tides because the African talent did not disappear yesterday and there are new and pioneering technologies to allow seeing the emerging markets like never before.

A company from Switzerland is working on changing the scouting perception in Africa and they made another big move to help local clubs be more competitive. Blocsport.one uses their platform to present African football in an innovative way with blockchain-verified data, smart transfers and fast direct communication between clubs. If you are a European club, you no longer need to travel and scout around. You get the whole package delivered to your door through blocsport.one “Eyes of Africa“ football marketplace.

What started pre-covid in Kenya is now a full-on speed in West Africa. Blocsport.one, in collaboration with Global Transfer Consultancy, are conducting a set of tournaments and a scouting showcase in 5 different regions of Ghana. They are signing agreements with leading local clubs to expand their affiliation network even more for a permanent presence in the region.

We asked blocsport.one CEO, Tomasz Krzystek, to tell us more about the application: “The platform that we created is for football transfers across the world. Blockchain is such a flexible thing. It allows you to divide your interest into different markets and look at exactly what you need at the moment. We would like to welcome everyone to join on https://app.blocsport.one. For emerging markets, we use the newest technologies of player assessment including blockchain player ID for age verification and easy solidarity compensations, video analysis and performance stats to find the best talent and create chances for you and your players. For developed countries we give clubs the ability to manage their own data, control private communication and invite players for follow-up trials “, said Krzystek.

How is it different from its competitors? Matthew Banson, GTC CEO explains “We not only have a virtual marketplace to see the recommendations but we combine the on-site effort to bring the best scouting experience out there. This is something unprecedented as our coverage reaches to the areas not seen before. It’s easy to buy a broadcasted game from the top division but does it create a real opportunity for a club to transfer players and maximize ROI? Not really. We reach for young players, promising clubs and through our affiliations nurture young players on the platform so they are ready for a transfer anytime anywhere. We use our chain of academies to place players in the “holding“ environment where they adapt to European gameplay.“

Blocsport.one creates the opportunity to scout on the platform but also to goes deeper into exclusive cooperation. “We treat the market country-by-country “, says CEO Krzystek, “It means you can buy an exclusive market and own the data as well as the clubs. That is even more powerful as these players can be transferred not only to you but also to other clubs with your benefit of data sales. Simple power of blockchain technology. We are cutting through the middlemen and bureaucracy. “

It looks like the platform might be a game changer in these harsh COVID-19 conditions where the new normal is to protect your ground and cut costs on every level. Digitized African football, something previously unseen on the continent, sounds about right and hopefully will bring the ever-sought bridge between continents.

Companies to contact:

blocsport.one AG, [email protected], a company registered in Switzerland, whose address is care of Fraumunsterstrasse 16, 8001 Zurich, Switzerland

Global Transfer Consultancy Ltd, a company registered in UK, whose address is care of 63/66 Hatton Garden, EC1N 8LE, London, United Kingdom