Football Agent Scouting Checklist

Use this checklist when you send a scout or read a report in Football Agent. The living world is large — 44 countries, 115 leagues, about 47,500 players, 1,900 clubs down to the third tier — and your starting network sees almost none of it. You begin with one unsigned client, about €50,000, and leagues in or near your home country. Tick boxes so you do not spend that runway on a league you cannot reach, a 17-year-old who will not get minutes, or a Club Mandate that asked for a veteran.

Pair this page with how to scout for the click path, scouting system for mission length and scout quality, wonderkids for the 17-year-old hunt, and league coverage for where third tiers sit. Cash rules live on the agency economy page. Minutes and loans after the hotfix are also in the patch notes.

Pre-scouting checklist

Before you send a scout, confirm:

• You have budget for the mission cost and still keep several weeks of operating costs in reserve (eight weeks is a common community floor).
• A scout is free — not already on a mission, not travelling with you.
• The target league is unlocked on your network. Starting access is home and adjacent leagues. Regional offices, partnership scouts, or expensive personal travel unlock the rest. Do not queue a Brazilian third tier if the Agency panel still greys it out.
• You know why this league: a position you can place, an age band, or a Club Mandate that actually asked for youth. Curiosity is not a budget line.

Network unlocks are the real gate. The 47,500-player database is not a browser. You see what a scout can physically watch. Buy a region when the first commission exists, not when you are still placing the starter.

Report evaluation criteria

When a report lands, score each name:

Potential rating (most important)

• Potential 80+ — elite prospect. Prioritise if interest allows. Verify with a long mission or a personal trip before you spend weeks talking.
• Potential 70–79 — solid development candidate and good value if minutes exist.
• Potential 60–69 — niche. Only if the club will play him and the fee is cheap.
• Potential below 60 — generally not worth the signing investment while you are still small.

Age, especially seventeen

• 17 — the wonderkid window. Cheap present, high ceiling, crowded rivals on the obvious names. Hunt third tiers among those 1,900 clubs, not television leagues.
• 18–21 — still a long runway if he plays.
• 22–25 — some ceiling already set; sign for a mix of now and later.
• 26+ — limited growth. Sign for immediate value, not a montage.

A 17-year-old with huge potential and a demand for first-division football will sit. The same boy in a third-tier side that starts him twice a week will grow. After the development hotfix, that sentence is literal.

Interest, contract, and price

• High interest (60%+) — a path you can walk.
• Medium (30–60%) — workable, but rivals and extra weeks appear.
• Low (below 30%) — avoid unless you have a specific, cheap plan.
• Free agent — cheapest to sign.
• Contract expiring within six months — act before expiry.
• Long contract remaining — expensive; only for high potential you have verified.
• Estimated value inside your signing budget — viable.
• Value above budget — cut the commission ask, add a sell-on, or walk away. Do not raid the eight-week cash floor.

Minutes, loans, and the hotfix

Playing time now depends on squad place and the playing-time promise you negotiate. Both were ignored in the first hours of Early Access: loaning a youngster out changed nothing. It changes minutes now. A bench loan to a famous badge can freeze a ceiling. A loan that actually kicks a ball can save a 17-year-old.

Development was too fast: a wonderkid could hit his ceiling in three seasons with full investment. It takes much longer now. A player who does not get minutes barely develops. Tick this before you sign:

• The promised club has a squad place he can occupy, not a shirt for the photo.
• If you plan a loan, it is for starts, not for a bigger name on the Wikipedia line.
• You can defend the minutes promise in the next window, not only in the hotel lobby.

Club Mandates versus open scouting

Club Mandates are a job board, not a scout report. A club asks for a player. You propose from Market or the Club Mandates panel. If the name is ineligible, the game explains why — wrong position, wrong wage band, already committed. Answer mandates you can fill with someone already on your books. Use them to place a prospect whose minutes were stalling. Do not force a 17-year-old into a veteran request.

• This mission is open scouting, not a mandate you already failed twice.
• If a mandate fits, propose first; save the long mission for a league your network just unlocked.
• Boards that still have budget after they carry spending into later seasons are worth more than loud requests from boards that already spent the summer.

Decision framework

Sign or meet now

Potential 75+, age 17–22, high interest, free agent or short contract, and a club that will play him: pursue. Meet in person on the expensive names. Convert with how to sign clients.

Scout again

Potential 70+, age 17–25, medium interest, moderate contract: run a second, longer mission before a multi-week negotiation. Novice scouts can miss a 17-year-old by ten potential points.

Do not pursue

Potential below 65, low interest at any age, a long contract on a low ceiling, a league your network cannot see, or a mandate that asked for a different profile: pivot. Spend the week on the starter or on a mandate you can actually fill.

Related guides

• How to Scout — missions, reports, and network expansion
• How to Sign Clients — turning a ticked name into a contract
• Wonderkids — seventeen, third tiers, and slower growth

A ticked box is not a signed 17-year-old. Across 44 countries and 115 leagues the cheap names hide in third tiers your network has not unlocked yet. After the minutes hotfix, a loan that parks a boy on a famous bench is a freeze, not a plan. Use Club Mandates when a board already asked; use this checklist when you still have to choose which muddy pitch to watch.