An athletic recruiting company currently enrolled in EPICentre’s (www.epicentreuwindsor.ca) incubation program has helped up-and-coming soccer players secure US $110 million in international pro contracts for the new season—without travelling the world for tryouts.

Pursue Sports, founded by UWindsor alumnus Mike Murad and headquartered at UWindsor’s EPIC Innovation, uses a numeric ranking system to rate soccer players. The company offers comprehensive athlete profiles through the analysis of data gathered through a process of rigorous testing.

The process allows athletes interested in international playing contracts to be tested close to home, rather than travelling internationally for team tryouts.

“The advantage that we provide to professional clubs located abroad is that the athletes are being compared to players on international teams before they arrive in a new country for a tryout. This gives the soccer club an opportunity to compare players before even meeting them,” says Murad.

“The advantage for the athlete is that they save a large sum of money that would otherwise be spent travelling. They are able to use their score to not only apply for multiple contracts but also to improve themselves, which leads to better offers.”

Though athletic recruiting agencies haven’t been quick to adopt standardized testing, Murad says the team at Pursue Sports has capitalized on its members’ experiences to build a system to rank players more accurately. He says that over the company’s two-year history it has seen a growing demand for athletes, as well as a rise in contracts.

“Our process begins with building the demand first. We use our network of soccer clubs to receive offers and post them in the system. When a contract comes up we have a specific deadline to fill that contract and we then filter through our supply of athletes.”

Murad says they then work with the teams and the athletes to find a perfect match.

The business currently has offices in Canada and the United States with 10 employees, and recently opened an office in England thanks to a successful Canadian Digital Media Network Soft-Landing application through WEtech Alliance.

The company hopes to eventually expand operations into the Middle East and is also considering future expansion of services into such sports as basketball and hockey. Find more information in the University’s news release.