/ Soccer Management & Scouting Course

Learn How to Become a Soccer Scout

In just eight weeks, you can learn the scouting and organizational abilities needed to launch your career as a soccer scout anywhere in the world.

To earn a spot as a scout for a Premier, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, or MLS & USL team requires elite scouting & management skills. Our 8-week online Soccer Management & Scouting Certification Course, taught by San Jose Earthquakes Head Sporting Strategist Vassili Cremanzidis, and Valencia CF Academy Scout Matt Martin will give you the skills & techniques to advance your career in soccer.

NEXT START DATE: December 16

NEXT START DATE:
December 16

Weekly Live Interactive Zoom Chats With Vassili Cremanzidis
MONDAY 5 pm PT 8 pm ET TUESDAYS 1 am GMT
Weekly Live Interactive Zoom Chats With Matt Martin
THURSDAYS 5 pm PT 8 pm ET FRIDAYS 1 am GMT
8-week online course
Access to SMWW network
Resume enhancement
Ongoing career advice
Class size limited to 20 students

Mentors

Chania

TAKE THE FIRST STEP

Learn More About Becoming a Soccer Management & Scouting Student

We want to help you find the right course for your career. Fill out the form below and an SMWW Career Counselor will follow up directly with you.

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Your Soccer Career Starts Here

The time is now to jump into a career in soccer.

With the continued growth of the sport on a global level, the pressure to achieve winning results has never been greater. Teams recognize that to be amongst the sport's elite they need an emphasis on global talent evaluation and advance scouting of the opposition, two of the core benefits of this course.

But we don’t stop there, during our 8-week online course we cover a vast array of skills that teams require from their staff, including:

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  • The four corners of elite player development
  • Opposition team analysis
  • Assessing and analyzing individual players
  • How to write soccer-focused analysis reports
  • Pre-game scouting preparation
  • Utilizing data and external resources
  • Understanding team formations and tactics
  • Constructing an effective and successful team unit
  • How international player transfers work
  • Role of academies in developing players
  • Soccer club analysis – playing side structure
  • The role of a Director of Soccer, Head Coach, Chief Scout
  • The salary cap and UEFA FFP
  • The role of agents and scouting
  • The business of soccer

 

The Soccer Management and Scouting course mentors will educate you by utilizing their vast experiences playing the game, managing the game, coaching the game, and scouting at all levels of soccer worldwide.

You will finish this course with a new and diversified skill set in evaluating soccer talent, scouting opposing teams, managing soccer organizations, and operating player personnel departments. Additionally, you’ll have the opportunity to build lasting relationships with the course mentors and guest speakers in professional soccer worldwide.

Sports Jobs This Course Will Prepare You For

Soccer management requires a versatile skill set, not just evaluating players and creating a competitive team and not just budgeting, operations, and marketing. You need to be the master of it all!

This cutting-edge course will prepare you to enter the world of soccer management with a diverse array of skills that will qualify you for any of these roles:

  • Soccer Player Personnel
  • Soccer General Manager
  • Soccer Agent
  • Soccer Scout
  • Soccer Management
  • Soccer Front Office
  • Soccer Game Operations
  • Soccer Operations
  • Soccer Sports Marketing
  • Soccer Media & Community Relations
  • Soccer Account Manager
  • Soccer Internships

Meet Your Soccer GM & Scouting Mentors

Vassili Cremanzidis - San Jose Earthquakes Head Sporting Strategist.

Vassili Cremanzidis is the Head Sporting Strategist for the San Jose Earthquakes. His main role is to co-lead the first team's roster build, including but not limited to strategic planning, salary cap and budget management, and recruitment. He also manages the day-to-day activities of the club and acts as the main contact with Major League Soccer (MLS).  

His professional career started in 2013 with CF Montreal (Montreal Impact at the time). From 2013 to 2015, he was the first team's performance analyst, analyzing video, statistics, and GPS metrics. Having been recruited by the San Jose Earthquakes for the start of the 2016 season, Vassili had a similar role as the first team's Scouting and Performance Analyst. By the end of his tenure in San Jose, he was the Head of Analysis and Associate Director of Player Personnel. In 2019, his career brought him back to his hometown of Montreal. He has now returned to San Jose to fill the Head Sporting Strategist role.

Vassili graduated from Concordia University in Montreal in 2011, with a Bachelor of Commerce, Major in Management. In 2013, he graduated from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., with a Master of Professional Studies in Sports Industry Management. Vassili is also a graduate of 2 SMWW courses, Hockey GM & Scouting in 2009 and Sports Salary Capology in 2010.

 

Tommy Smyth – ESPN Soccer Analyst

Since 1993, Irish-born Tommy Smyth has been an integral part of ESPN soccer coverage for the MLS, EPL, Serie A, La Liga, UEFA Champions League, and FIFA World Cup Qualifying matches. His in-game analysis, strategic expertise, and player evaluations are unmatched, as are his trademark voice and excitable delivery.

Smyth is also well known for his studio work, anchoring ESPN Soccernet Press Pass, ESPN International's global football roundtable and analysis segments covering the game the world over.

During his tenure at ESPN, Smyth has called over 3,000 international matches, giving him an unprecedented point of view into team dynamics, attributes, and organization. It is this knowledge of the sport, and first-hand exposure to the global game, that makes Smyth such a valued course mentor.

Matt Martin

As Academy Scout for Valencia CF (Spain), Matt Martin focuses on Youth Scouting in the talent-rich Northern California region and supports team depth and development by scouting MLSNext, USL Academy, ECNL, NPL, ODP, PDP, and International events as well as college and lower division to build San Jose 2.  

Prior to Valencia CF, Matt Co-founded The Soccer Syndicate, North America's premier independent scouting company, and before that was the Director of Domestic Scouting for the Portland Timbers of MLS. Before joining the Timbers, Martin was the National Scouting Coordinator for Sporting Kansas City, covering the nation with a staff he built from connections and SMWW course graduates. He started as a scout with the New York Red Bulls and The Scouting Network (TSN) of England.

Matt's professional career began with The Scouting Network (TSN) out of Birmingham, England after completing SMWW's Soccer Management and Scouting Course in 2007. Now he's a course mentor and a highly connected resource in the world of domestic soccer.

Frequent Guest Speakers

Paul Molesworth

Paul Molesworth is a former Chief Scout and current scouting consultant with vast experience in the English Premier League and Football League.

Previously Paul was Chief Scout for 2011-12 League 2 title winners, Swindon Town. He was also Chief Scout for Bristol Rovers, helping the club reach the Johnson Paints Trophy Final in 2006, followed a year later with a League 2 Wembley Play-off Final win and reaching an FA Cup Quarter Final in 2008. He began his scouting career working for Liverpool FC as Chief Scout for the Midlands area, a position he held for over 11 years.

Paul has worked as a Chief Scout through all levels of English football including Swansea City, Port Vale, Kidderminster Harriers, Greenock Morton, Luton Town, Mansfield Town, Oxford United, and Northampton Town.

As a player, Paul Molesworth was an accomplished left-back making professional appearances for Walsall FC in England, Hamarun Spartans in Malta, and AEK in Cyprus.

 

Why our Soccer Management and Scouting Course is Your Perfect Match

The popularity of Soccer shows no sign of slowing down as professional leagues continue to expand around the world. As the competition to sign the best global talent increases and the importance of winning intensifies, opportunities to work in professional soccer have expanded.

Teams are constantly searching for fresh ways to discover and evaluate players, gain a competitive edge when evaluating the opposition, and increase the skills within their front office.  

At SMWW, you'll learn the exact skills soccer teams around the globe need!

Led by ESPN soccer analyst Tommy Smyth and Portland Timbers Director of Domestic Scouting Matt Martin, our 8-week online course is a one-of-a-kind experience to learn the inner workings of the soccer industry.   

Unlike most online classes, we focus our program on interactive Zoom video chats directly with your course mentors, which allows you the opportunity to build personal relationships and rapport with these successful soccer industry leaders. After completing our Soccer Management & Scouting course, we will help you redesign your resume to highlight your new skills and include that you have been taught first-hand by Tommy Smyth and Matt Martin. Now that is powerful!

What is the success of this program?

The entire 2015 MLS champion Portland Timbers scouting staff were graduates of this course. Now that is SUCCESS! In addition to our many graduates working in MLS, we have alumni working in the EPL and other major soccer leagues around the globe. 

Course Details

Weekly Interactive Zoom Video Chats - A unique aspect of each 8-week course is the opportunity for students to participate in weekly, interactive live Zoom video chats with fellow students, Tommy Smyth, Matt Martin, and guest speakers. This is a tremendous opportunity to learn from your course facilitators. In addition, the chat allows you to network within the international soccer industry and build lasting relationships with your course facilitators and fellow students. If you are unable to attend the chat they are recorded and archived and you can listen at a more convenient time.

Online Education - This innovative academic course is facilitated through a web-based educational delivery system. You will enjoy the live interactive Zoom video chats in addition to the online discussion boards, weekly readings, weekly quizzes, course projects, and interaction amongst fellow sports business-minded students and faculty. The course content is the foundation of a successful career on the business side of professional soccer!

Global Participation - SMWW students participate from over 162 countries. Courses have an international influence and instructors will cater assignments to specific countries or leagues. Countries with economic challenges are eligible for economic discounts.

University Credit Available: For additional fees to Fort Hays State University in Kansas, you may receive graduate or undergraduate university credit for Sports Management Worldwide's courses. Click here for more information.

Sports Career Conferences - Throughout the year, Sports Management Worldwide hosts Sports Career Conferences at a variety of sporting events. These are fabulous networking events that put SMWW alumni in the heart of the action. Opportunities to meet executives at all levels of sport are facilitated. Visit SMWW Sports Career Conferences to learn more. 

Advanced Certificates: Want to take your career to the next level? Our Advanced Certificates have been hand-selected by our team of sports industry experts to put you on a path to success. These bundles allow you to take advantage of our biggest discount available, by bundling multiple courses and becoming an expert in that field. Learn more about our Advanced Certificates here.

Military Discount - For those individuals who represent their country in military service, (active, reserve, or retired) we offer a discount. Thank you for serving your country! For more information on the Military Discount please Click Here.

Tax Write Off - (For USA Citizens) SMWW course tuition, books, and supplies can be used for education tax credits. Save your receipts and consult with your tax advisor on how this applies to you.

What Happens After I Complete the Course?

Upon successful graduation from the Soccer Management & Scouting Course you'll have many options:

Become an SMWW Scout:

Graduates will be invited to join SMWWscouts.com, our network of professional scouts working across all sports and in all countries.

You will advertise yourself as a certified scout and trained evaluator. Teams, coaches, and agents use this service to find qualified talent evaluators in areas they need them.

We become your match-makers!

The site will include your own webpage with your picture and biography and samples of your best scouting reports. As a graduate of the Soccer Management and Scouting course you are eligible to apply for acceptance as an SMWW scout and be featured on this website free!

Work for a Team:

Our goal is to see all Soccer Management and scouting graduates gainfully employed in soccer worldwide. Our team at SMWW will customize a soccer portfolio to assist you with your career in soccer.

Through our extensive network of professional and collegiate soccer teams and organizations worldwide, our objective is to prepare you for when the right job opportunities become available. Numerous people that have gone through our programs are now employed in great positions and you could do the same. We want to help you launch your soccer career and help you find a position where you can be the most successful and satisfied.

Course Certificate:

Successful graduates of the Sports Management Worldwide courses will be sent an SMWW Certificate of Accomplishment. This certificate represents not only your achievements in the course but also demonstrates your personal commitment to self-improvement and the ability to "self-train" yourself for higher positions within the sports business industry.

In addition to your certificate, you will be given the stamp of approval by SMWW.

Resume Redesign Service

Acquiring the skills necessary for your dream sports career is only one part of the employment journey. Even with the required skill set, you still have to market yourself properly to attract the attention of sports industry employers. 

At SMWW, we’ll teach you the skills you need to thrive AND help you redesign your resume for optimal impact in the sports industry. We’ll help you craft a resume to highlight your new skills in Soccer General Management and Scouting including a reference from Vassili Cremanzidis, Tommy Smyth, Matt Martin, and Dr. Lashbrook while optimizing it to reach hiring managers searching online. 

We want you to become the next SMWW success story and will go to great lengths to help you get there!

 

THREE MONTHLY PAYMENTS OF $650

Or a single payment of $1,950

Includes all course textbooks and access to a web-based classroom. Shipping is additional.

PRICE IN  
APPROXIMATELY $1950

If we offer an economic discount in your country, it is included in the estimate above. Exact pricing including the discount is shown before you complete checkout. Payment plan options are provided during checkout.

PAYMENT METHODS:
Prerequisites: Must be 18 or older to participate and have a passion for sports.
CALL TODAY: 1-877-SMWW-NOW
(In the UK: 087 12884799)

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