Difficult to find your place in football. Since 2023, Footsider has been trying to help young people disappointed with football to attract professional or amateur clubs. The application attracts more than 120,000 footballers and soon plans to export to Africa.
“ Yes, there are a few, very interesting », Says Nelson Almeida who has worked for the Girondins de Bordeaux for several years. He has an eye for talent. Like around forty other recruiters from French and foreign clubs, he responded to the invitation from the Footsider application, which was already organizing its fifth day of detection since its creation.
“ What is good about this type of event is that we have good visibility for a good number of players outside the Paris region. It can be a springboard. For some, it will be, that’s a certainty. »
Facing the recruiters, there were around a hundred of them, trying to get noticed on a field in the east of Paris. Ibrahima did everything he could. Arriving from Ivory Coast a little over a year ago, he plays without a license in Île-de-France and is looking for a new base. “ Before, I played in a club there. I came to give it a try, to try my luck. It went well, I have confidence in myself. My dream is to go as far as possible. No matter the club, I can go there, no problem. »
These detection days are one of the pillars of Footsider’s operation. An application launched in early 2023 of which Riyane Mouhib is one of the co-founders for whom “ This project comes from an observation: for years, we have been asking ourselves the question of how to help these young footballers increase their chances of being spotted, but also help them find clubs near them. »
Already 125,000 users
Star Ronaldinho and Algerian international Yacine Brahimi are also co-founders of this social network which has already attracted 125,000 users and 1,500 professional or amateur clubs. Present during the detection day, Gabriel, 17, was immediately excited: “ It’s simple, it’s an application where we can post videos of ourselves that highlight us. And for those in the recruitment unit, see which profile may be interesting. It’s a plus for a footballer. »
A new way to stand out in an ultra-competitive world. Defender of PSG and World champion with the Blues in 2018, Presnel Kimpembe supports the project: “ It’s for all these young people who have little or no opportunity to be spotted by professional clubs. It’s complicated, we’ve all been there “.
Far from the splendor of the Champions League, there are many left behind. And the social network also plans to help them on the African continent: “ We have a lot of requests in Africa, really a lot. And the objective is twofold: to help local clubs find players who play on the beaches or in the streets and can apply, explains the founder. But there is also a fight that we want to wage, to fight against false agents and intermediaries. This is an important message to explain to young African players. »
Footsider has already planned a detection day in Casablanca, Morocco at the beginning of July. The application is then expected to launch on the continent at the end of the year, no later than early 2025.