Naythan Din-Kariuki, a Kenyan working as the lead data scout of English Premier League (EPL) football team Aston Villa, has secured a spot at the highly coveted UEFA Elite Scout Programme.
Taking to his LinkedIn, Kariuki revealed the new development, expressing his joy at landing a spot in the programme that will begin on Tuesday, October 7, in London.
“Excited to share that I’ve been accepted onto the UEFA Elite Scout Programme (UEFA Academy), beginning Tuesday in London. It is a small cohort, and I feel truly honoured to be included,” Kariuki said.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from some of the very best in the game and gain insight into different perspectives and processes. From the conversations already happening in the group, the diverse mix of backgrounds, including former players, heads of recruitment, coaches and data-driven scouts, this promises to make this a fantastic learning environment,” he added.
The UEFA Elite Scout Programme
The UEFA ESP is a foundation course offered by the UEFA Academy for professional scouts, coaches, or ex-players with an interest in moving into scouting or improving their scouting techniques in modern football.
It is designed to combine traditional scouting/match observation with newer tools, like data, statistics, video analysis, technological tools and others.
It typically runs for three months, where participants have three face-to-face seminars and two online seminars. Participants discuss real-world case studies, simulation exercises, match reports, and practical observation during their period of learning.
In the programme, Kariuki will have a chance to learn from top scouts such as Juni Calafat (Real Madrid), Joe Shields (Chelsea) and sporting directors in the world, including Richard Hughes (Liverpool), Dan Ashworth (Football Association) and Christoph Freund (Bayern Munich).
By the end of the programme ends, the 35 will have gained a deeper understanding of the football ecosystem, technical skills such as match observation, soft skills like deep analysis, an international perspective on scouting and have a chance to network with some of the leading scouts across the world.
The programme, which accepts applications from all around the world, normally requires applicants to have at least two years of experience working as a scout, coach or professional player and fluency in written and spoken English.
A mandatory fee of Ksh1.1 million (7,900 euros) is paid during application, with successful applicants receiving a certificate of completion when they finish.
About Naythan Din-Kariuki
The latest marks another achievement for Kariuki this year, after he was promoted to the Lead Data Scout role from his previous job as a recruitment analyst by Villa in March.
In his role, Kariuki is expected to leverage his expertise as both a scout and data analyst to support Aston Villa’s recruitment strategy as they strive for success in both English and European competitions.
In a typical football club setting, the Lead Data Scout integrates analytics with traditional scouting to ensure the club makes informed, data-driven recruitment decisions while maintaining a competitive edge in the transfer market.
According to his professional profile, Kariuki possesses an in-depth understanding of both English and African football, holds two postgraduate degrees - one in Sports Business and Leadership and another in Performance Analysis.
Before joining Aston Villa, Naythan worked at Oxford United Football Club, AC Horsens, and Eden Sports Group in various analytical roles.
In Kenya, he served as the goalkeeper coach for Kariobangi Sharks in the Kenya Premier League in 2016. He also co-founded East African Eye, an independent scouting and football data service dedicated to identifying and promoting emerging talent from East Africa.
