New Index presented. On Tuesday, June 20th, Italian sports newspaper Tuttosport and data & analytics platform Football Benchmark presented the new Golden Boy Index, a tool that will be employed in the upcoming 21st edition of the Golden Boy Award. This new evaluation method and the new communication space will reform the player selection process by leveraging data and analytics-driven methodology.
- The Index includes 100 Under-21 players from a club in one of Europe’s top 25 domestic leagues, leading to the European Golden Boy 2023 election.
- The Golden Boy Award, one of the most prestigious awards in world football, has previously been bestowed upon outstanding talents such as Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, and Erling Haaland.
An innovative approach… An innovative approach has been taken to judge young talent, combining the 20-year experience of the 50 journalists who make up the international jury with Football Benchmark statistical analyses expertise.
- The Golden Boy Index considers the general performance, playing time, team value, and performance in national and European competitions of each player to generate the Golden Boy Rating, which is decisive in drawing up this ranking.
- The list will be the reference to award the European Golden Boy Absolute Best and the Best Italian Golden Boy.
… for a varied roster of names. The Index’s first edition includes players from every position, nation, and league.
- The 100-name list includes 4 goalkeepers, 32 defenders, 43 midfielders, and 21 forwards from 33 different nations. France has the most players with 14, followed by Denmark (10), England (8), Germany, Belgium, and Argentina (5).
- The Premier League has the most players with 13, followed by Ligue 1 (10) and the Bundesliga (9). In total, 22 national leagues are represented out of the top 25 in the UEFA ranking.
- Red Bull Salzburg has the most players on its roster with 5, confirming its position as one of the clubs focusing on scouting up-and-coming talent, closely followed by Copenhagen and Brighton (4).
Communication has also renewed. A new editorial project named ‘Golden Boy News’ has been inaugurated on the Award’s official website.
- It aims to be a place for debate and reflection on the whole European football world, thanks to the contribution of the international jury members.
- Guido Vaciago, Tuttosport’s editor-in-chief, signed the first editorial of this new project.
