Fisher Talent Group is Redefining Football Scouting with Veo

Fisher Talent Group's inspiration started in the Kingdom of Eswatini, where Founder and Executive Director and Head of Scouting Rob Fisher was a United States Peace Corps Volunteer from 2010 to 2013. During that time, he coached a rural men's high school team from 2010-12 in Emvembili (a northern community in Eswatini's Hhohho region), where he lived with a Swazi family. Then, in 2013, he managed, coached, and scouted for the Denver Sundowns Academy of Denver Sundowns Football Club. He witnessed the potential and passion for football among rural and city youth coaching King Mswati II Methodist High School and Denver Sundowns Academy. He further noticed the amount of youth talent across Africa from traveling during and after his U.S. Peace Corps service.

"During my two years at Mswati High School, we were successful. We won two conference championships, a regional title, and went to a national semi-final," Fisher recalls. "I was inspired by the potential of countless young players and the talent in my community that nobody knew. I witnessed it in my high school, community, and Denver Sundowns. Nobody knew about the talent outside of my teams and community, and if people had, countless players could've used football to advance their lives. They could've gained interest from international youth academies, scouts, player agents, the national team, and domestic and foreign clubs. Most importantly, they could've attended college in the United States or elsewhere."

His experience planted the seed for Fisher Talent Group, an organization committed to closing the gap between youth athletes' opportunities. Upon returning to the United States in 2013, Fisher spent a decade coaching and scouting before launching his nonprofit in 2020. Delayed by the pandemic, the initiative officially launched in the Kingdom of Eswatini in June 2023, starting in the country that inspired the vision.

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Technology and local collaboration driving success

Fisher Talent Group's scouting process involves connecting with local football coaches and grassroots leaders and using innovative technology. Over the past eighteen months, Fisher (he is the only staff member until he hires local Directors of Scouting and executive staff to launch his larger vision) has scouted over five thousand Eswatini players in nationwide communities and discovered two hundred athletes.

"Our methodology is about working in communities, going and finding talent where it is," he explains. He says his approach removes barriers such as transportation costs, fee-based identification events, and more, leading to accurate talent pools and assessments. His process ensures that even the most remote players have equal discovery opportunities.

A key tool in his process is his Veo camera. "The Veo camera has been incredible for us," he says. "It allows us to record training sessions and matches and simultaneously build relationships with coaches while filming. Film reviews help us identify players we might miss during live scouting and reevaluate performances. We use it to create highlights and promotional content to promote kids globally."

The footage supports talent identification and promotes players domestically and internationally to professional clubs, youth academies, player agents, the national team, international scouts, colleges, and, eventually, the public. Rob highlights technology's role in signaling Fisher Talent Group's professionalism. "The camera's presence shows kids and their communities that we're serious about supporting talent and generating opportunities," he says.

Empowering talent through education

Beyond scouting, Fisher Talent Group is committed to empowering talent with skills that extend to the global job market. The organization aims to launch an Elite Scouting Education and Data Analysis program for talented youth and adults, giving them transferable skills to the modern job world and driving sustainability. His education component is fifty percent of Fisher Talent Group's mission and will focus on technical scouting, data analysis, and technology. It will amplify youth voices and identify academically, intellectually, creatively, and football-gifted youth and adults to join the program.

"Our mission is about creating opportunities for young people to use football and our education program to advance their lives," Fisher says. "Our education program also applies to adults. Whether through college scholarships, professional contracts, national team identification, youth academies, or other opportunities where they make friends, build contacts, learn, grow, and evolve, or skills that prepare them for a career and social mobility, it's about being seen, identified, and using their skills to advance. It's about opening continent-wide Africa as a valuable market for the world and bringing folks into talent's ubiquity."

Fisher Talent Group aims to expand its reach with paid scouting operations continent-wide. The goal is to create a continent-wide platform showcasing thousands of youth football players annually while providing jobs, economic and youth empowerment, and scouting education.

By working hand in hand with local football leaders and leveraging innovative tools, Fisher Talent Group is creating a brighter future for African youth—one where their talent broadcasts globally and takes center stage.

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