Matthew Moore signing for Hoffenheim in 2023
Since Brexit came into effect, the landscape for young Irish footballers aspiring to turn professional has undergone a seismic shift. The new rules, which prohibit players from outside the UK from moving there until they turn 18, have significantly disrupted the traditional pathway for Irish talent.
But how can Ireland’s best young players secure places in Europe’s elite academies without established scouting networks on the island? Meet PlayerLink, a one of a kind talent identification platform that has built connections with some of the highest rated academies in Europe, playing a huge role in taking some of our talents to Germany and Belgium, Sweden and Denmark to just name a few. A move to Hoffenheim for Matthew Moore, one of the top academies in all of Europe for developing high potential talent being the main case study.
Investment in Irish football infrastructure, particularly at the youth level, continues to lag behind other nations. Young players often lack the necessary contact hours and access to elite coaching, making it difficult to reach their full potential at home. Consequently, many are compelled to seek opportunities abroad where better resources and structured pathways exist.
In March 2020, Abdul, a former St. Kevin’s Boys footballer, decided to address these challenges head-on. Determined to provide a platform for Irish youth to showcase their talents to Europe’s best academies, Abdul founded PlayerLink.
Reflecting on the platform’s origins, Abdul explains, “We wanted to create something that gives players exposure to clubs around Europe. We also felt the standard of the underage national teams wasn’t a reflection of the best players in the country, as some of the best talents were going unnoticed.”
Initially PlayerLink’s plan was to go down the route of working with clubs and be their eyes and ears within the market which they still do to an extent but due to clubs looking for them to work exclusively for them they had to look at other ways of approaching it and maximising opportunities for Irish lads abroad.
On why the approach of working directly for clubs had to be changed Abdul stated, “It just limits the players opportunities to go to different clubs. The one club just wouldn’t be able to sign all the top Irish players. It’s not impossible but it is not likely to happen when you’re competing with the best talent across the world.”
Their first initial opportunity was bringing four Irish lads over to Shrewsbury during the pandemic through an agent they had built a strong connection with to this day. One of the players was offered a contract by Shrewsbury but due to Brexit then kicking in, the deal fell apart as the player had not turned 18. If PlayerLink had stuck with just the club route, opportunities like such wouldn’t have been possible.
Despite the dream route of signing for a top English club at 16 no longer being an option, Abdul feels it’s something Irish lads can benefit from.
He said, “Now the best players have been going to the best clubs in Europe, although it’s taken time for these clubs in Europe to come into the Irish market. More European clubs are starting to look at various talents in Ireland but that’s taken a long time to be honest and a lot of work in the background convincing these clubs to have a look at these boys. But now I feel the boys who are coming up through these age groups are having a lot more opportunities than the lads from three to four years ago.”
He also stated, “Ideally we’d want these lads to develop at home but there’s still a lot of room for improvement before we get there. When the boys go abroad, they tend to get surprised with how good the level is. Technically, tactically, intensity and everything really is a big surprise to them.”
PlayerLink is one of a kind when it comes to scouting, they are the only scouting ID platform in the country and whilst that’s all well and good in name, the question really is what sets them apart from club and agent scouts?
On what sets PlayerLink apart Abdul said, “A lot of scouts only attend big games. I’ve been to 85 games this year alone and have probably watched over 150, including video analysis. It’s a lot of work, but it’s what makes us stand out. We don’t just write a single report; we revisit games and players to ensure we don’t miss anything.”
PlayerLink have definitely filled a gap in the market by finding hidden gems at clubs with less profile and there’s no better example of that than Ireland underage star Romeo Akachukwu who they discovered when he was 15. One thing Abdul has prided his work on is assessing all options for a player and deciding along with the players family what is the best step in their development. With Romeo it was to stay in Ireland until he was 18 and be in a first team environment with Waterford before eventually signing for Southampton in August of this year.
On the Ireland under-19 international he stated, “We found Romeo when he was 15 and he wasn’t in the Ireland national team. Technically he was very good but physically he just lacked power. People sometimes think we found him based on chance but we saw that he would be very, very good long-term. Technically, he had a football brain and he understood the game really well whilst also getting himself in great positions to score.”
“But we thought that if he could become stronger and more powerful then he has a chance to make it. That’s exactly what he did, within the space of six months he went from being 5’8 to 5’11 and now he’s 6’2. He’s now at one of the best underage teams in England and made his first team debut just over a month after signing for Southampton.” He added on Romeo.
He also stated, “I think that’s where we’ve been successful, going out to games that people don’t want to go out to, finding players that we believe in. We’re not always going to get it right but we try to look at every player with an open mind on how good they could become in the 6-12 or even 18 months down the line.”
A key aspect that Abdul feels helps them relate a lot more to the current young player which helps them find a potential star.
On what they look for he said, “We want to try and find boys cant only just play within a system but also have that bit of flair or trickery and perhaps have something different about them that sets them apart from the rest. Sometimes there is question marks over these players but as we can relate a lot more to the newer generation and it’s just that a player is just different from the rest.”
One of PlayerLink’s primary objectives is to connect Irish players with clubs that provide the best developmental pathways. Germany has become a key target market, with many clubs now showing interest in Irish talent.
He emphasised, “We have targeted Germany quite a lot and now there’s a lot of clubs there interested in Irish players. They know they can’t get every player because there’s so much competition but that’s where we can help as the clubs try to put their best foot forward and try to sell themselves as the best pathway for these players.”
“We’re not interested in the biggest or best club, it’s who can provide the best pathway. There’s also clubs within Denmark, Sweden and Finland who consistently produce first team players that are now looking at Irish players which shows we have the talent” He added.
Although the off-season provides a brief respite from traveling, Abdul remains busy reviewing footage and revisiting players who may have flown under the radar. Looking ahead, PlayerLink’s long-term goal is clear: to elevate Irish football on the global stage.
“In the next 10 years, we want to see our best academy players in Europe’s top academies and eventually starring for the national team. The ultimate goal is to help Ireland compete for the Euros and World Cup.” He added.
Through relentless dedication and a clear vision, PlayerLink has already begun reshaping the future for Irish footballers, proving that with the right support, Irish talent can thrive on the global stage.