NextKick: Football Player Analysis Tool Using Machine Learning

Identifying grassroots football talent remains a persistent challenge due to the lack of structured scouting systems, limited access to professional evaluators, and the absence of reliable digital tools for skill assessment. Young players, especially from remote and underrepresented regions, often miss opportunities because clubs rely on manual scouting, subjective judgment, and inconsistent evaluation processes. Existing digital platforms either depend on costly infrastructure, require continuous internet connectivity, or fail to validate the authenticity and relevance of submitted performance videos. To address these limitations, this project introduces NextKick, an AI-driven, mobile-centric scouting and talent-assessment platform designed specifically for real-world football environments. NextKick incorporates a lightweight Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) pipeline capable of analyzing player performance videos, tracking player motion, and validating whether the uploaded content matches required football-specific criteria. This automated verification prevents irrelevant or misleading submissions while ensuring fairness and transparency in the scouting process. The platform further empowers clubs through an integrated admin evaluation module, allowing them to accept or reject players and directly communicate the selection outcome along with the identifying club. Beyond assessment, NextKick enhances accessibility by offering intuitive UI workflows, standardized skill-test formats, and scalable backend services optimized for low-bandwidth regions. Initial testing indicates that the system delivers accurate motion tracking and rapid video classification while maintaining computational efficiency suitable for common smartphone hardware. By merging lightweight AI analytics, structured digital scouting, and democratized access to opportunities, NextKick establishes a modern, inclusive pathway for football talent discovery. The system supports ethical talent identification, reduces scouting bias, and enables clubs to build stronger youth pipelines through data-backed insights.