How The FBA Student Luis Albuquerque Is Gaining Real-World Experience in Football Scouting
Football scouting is often perceived from the outside as simply watching matches and identifying talented players. In reality, much of the work happens behind the scenes through research, communication, preparation, reporting, and gaining access to environments that are rarely visible to the public.
That is exactly the side of football Luis Albuquerque has been experiencing during his internship at Analysis Sports Agents, where he has been working within scouting and recruitment operations as part of The FBA’s Professional Master in Football Business.
Originally from London and with Portuguese heritage, Luis joined The FBA with previous international experience already under his belt. Before joining the program, he completed internships in both Spain and the United States, developing exposure to coaching environments as well as the operational side of football organizations.
However, according to him, stepping into a football agency environment offered a completely different understanding of how recruitment and talent identification truly operate within the game.
Experiencing the Operational Side of Football Scouting
Luis is currently completing his internship at Analysis Sports Agents under the guidance of football agent Ersel Aybasti. Rather than simply observing daily operations, he has been directly involved in scouting activities, player analysis, market research, and football media projects.
His responsibilities have included scouting U21 women’s football in the UK and the PGA League, analysing performances, and producing detailed player reports and rankings based on both current performance levels and long-term potential.
Alongside his scouting responsibilities, Luis has also contributed to written articles for The Football Week magazine and developed interview questions for football industry professionals, allowing him to experience both recruitment and media operations within football.
Some scouting days involved travelling to multiple venues within the same week, balancing live observation with report writing, player tracking, and communication with clubs afterwards.
What stood out most to him early in the internship was the amount of preparation and continuous observation required behind football recruitment decisions.
“A lot of people think scouting is just watching matches, but a big part of the work actually happens before you even get into the stadium,” Luis explains. “It’s about communication, preparation, building relationships, and earning trust over time.”
Entering Environments Closed to the Public
One of the most impactful parts of the internship experience has been gaining access to football environments that are normally inaccessible to the public.
From attending matches in restricted venues to entering exclusive training grounds and communicating directly with clubs, Luis has experienced first-hand how much of football recruitment takes place away from public view. Beyond simply watching players, the role involves building relationships, securing access, organizing scouting opportunities, and communicating findings professionally and clearly.
In some cases, securing access to matches required contacting clubs several days in advance, particularly within youth women’s football environments where fixture information and venue details are often not publicly available.
For Luis, being trusted to evaluate players and contribute reports that feed into talent discussions has been one of the most exciting aspects of the experience so far.
He also highlighted the importance of networking within football environments and the value of becoming recognised within professional circles through both scouting activities and his published work with The Football Week magazine.
Another aspect that surprised him was how proactive the role requires you to be on a daily basis. Access is rarely handed to you directly. Instead, it often comes through persistence, communication, and building credibility with clubs and industry professionals over time.
Developing Skills Beyond the Classroom
According to Luis, one of the biggest differences between classroom learning and practical football experience is the speed and level of responsibility involved in real working environments.
The internship has strengthened his:
- communication skills
- professionalism in high-level football environments
- confidence when presenting observations and evaluations
- attention to detail during scouting processes
- ability to operate proactively and independently
He also explained that working closely with experienced professionals helped him become more comfortable asking questions, seeking clarification, and communicating more directly and transparently in professional situations.
That progression became particularly important when facing one of the biggest challenges of the internship: gaining access to closed matches and restricted environments within youth women’s football, where fixture information and club contacts are often difficult to find publicly.
Over time, this required persistence, initiative, and the confidence to contact clubs directly and professionally in order to secure scouting access and continue building relationships across the football ecosystem.
Learning How Football Recruitment and Agency Operations Work
Looking ahead, Luis hopes to deepen his understanding of how football agencies negotiate and structure player deals, including contract negotiations, decision-making processes, and relationship management within recruitment operations.
Through the internship, Luis also gained a clearer understanding of how interconnected football recruitment really is, with scouting, networking, communication, analysis, and relationship management all influencing how talent is identified and evaluated.
Rather than viewing football purely from the outside as a spectator, the internship has allowed him to experience the level of coordination, professionalism, and operational detail required behind the scenes across the game.
When asked to summarise The FBA internship experience in one sentence, Luis described it as:
“An eye-opening experience that changes your perspective by placing you inside the real workings of the industry, where you are actively involved rather than just observing from the outside.”
Build Real Experience Inside the Football Industry
For students looking to move beyond the classroom and experience how football organisations operate from the inside, internships represent one of several ways The FBA exposes students to the realities of the football industry.
The FBA’s Professional Master in Football Business combines academic learning with practical and industry-focused experiences designed to expose students to the operational realities of the football industry, including a guaranteed internship within the global game.
Applications for both the March and September intakes are currently open. In addition, the Early Bird Scholarship, offering up to 15% tuition fee reduction, is automatically applied to candidates who confirm their place before May 31. Apply Now.
