Mark Ruijl departs Feyenoord for technical director role at Excelsior

Mark Ruijl joined Feyenoord in 2021 after founding the scouting data company PlayerConnect. He was tasked with building a new data‑driven scouting department from scratch, noting that there were "no scouting reports" to inherit. Working with technical director Frank Arnesen, Ruijl developed tools and systems that he says saved the club a significant amount of money and helped verify transfer rumours.

After five years, Ruijl left Feyenoord, citing a desire for greater decision‑making authority. He has taken up the position of technical director at city rivals Excelsior, where he will continue to apply his data‑focused approach to scouting and player recruitment.