AI may be gearing up to take over everything, but Watford’s owners the Pozzo Family, are well ahead of the curve.
That’s according to Magda Pozzo anyway, who has detailed today how they’re ready to survive in a world where AI appears to be on the brink of taking over in an interview with Marca.
The Pozzo family currently own three clubs in European football, Udinese, Granada and Watford and run them as a combined group, a growing standard in the modern game.
Watford were the last side to be acquired by the group after a takeover in June 2012 and since then there’s been a regular series of deals between them and Udinese in particular.
The group prides itself on moving players between it’s clubs and scouting out talent in one region to send it to another to develop.
This has been a hit and miss process down the years but seen several stars end up at Watford at various points as they’ve bounced between the Premier League and Championship under the Pozzo reign.
Scouting such talents is increasingly becoming a game dominated by the power of AI, but Magda says that is only what they’ve been doing for years. It’s something which appears to be working this season, as they sit second in the table after a strong start to the campaign.
“Scouting is the soul of the club,” she said.
“Artificial Intelligence is similar to what we have been doing for 30 years: we apply criteria that are very advanced for the time and we build a powerful network of scouts. Now everything is standardised.
“We all play with the same weapons, but our experience and the relationships we build allow us to continue making a difference.”
