West Ham United Partners with AWS and Crayon to Develop AI-Powered Scouting Platform.

Roger Hampel

Image: West Ham United

West Ham United has announced a new collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Crayon to build a club-specific, AI-driven talent identification platform — a system the club says will support end-to-end player evaluation using machine learning and generative AI. The Premier League side becomes the first club in England’s top flight to develop a fully integrated recruitment tool built on large datasets, automated analysis and tailored predictive modelling.

A Club-Specific System Combining Performance, Technical and Contextual Data West Ham United AWS Crayon

The platform, currently in development, integrates multiple AWS technologies — including Amazon SageMaker and Amazon Bedrock — to analyse, benchmark and compare global player data. Crayon, which previously worked on AI projects within the Bundesliga, is co-leading the build and providing expertise through its AI Center of Excellence.

The tool will consolidate physical metrics, technical data, contextual match insights and broader player-profile variables into a unified environment accessible only to West Ham United’s scouting and coaching teams. According to the club, the intent is not to replace traditional scouting but to give decision-makers a more complete, evidence-based view of players in the transfer market.

Maximilian Hahn, Head of Technical Recruitment & Analysis at West Ham United, said the AI system will evaluate players across performance, playing style, team structure, age profile and financial fit — allowing the club to prioritise more strategic and scenario-based recruitment.

West Ham Positioning Itself at the Forefront of AI Adoption in Football

For West Ham, a club long branded as the “Academy of Football,” the introduction of an AI platform is framed as part of a wider push to modernise talent identification and strengthen long-term recruitment infrastructure. Premier League clubs have increasingly invested in analytics and AI-supported scouting platforms in recent years, but West Ham’s project stands out due to its club-specific architecture, rather than adopting an existing third-party tool.

Executive Director Nathan Thompson called the collaboration a “significant milestone,” pointing to the competitive advantage of having a bespoke platform designed specifically for West Ham’s decision-making patterns, style of play and internal workflows.

Why This Matters for the Broader Football Industry

The project underscores a broader shift in the football talent market:

• Premier League clubs are accelerating adoption of proprietary AI systems instead of relying solely on data suppliers.

• Generative AI is moving beyond media and fan engagement into performance and recruitment operations.

• Cloud-based models are enabling global player benchmarking, reducing scouting inefficiencies and broadening coverage in emerging markets.

Crayon VP Tim Ellefsen stated that the project will allow the club to “push the boundaries of what this technology can achieve,” comparing it to earlier Bundesliga data initiatives. From AWS’s perspective, the platform aligns with a wider trend of top sports organisations — from Formula 1 to the NFL — building data-driven infrastructure on AWS cloud systems.