Football Conference Istanbul by Footex:
Beyond 90 Minutes – World Football Meets in Istanbul
Powered by Comparisonator & Supported by The Book of Scouting
Organised by Footex, on 26–27 September 2026, leading figures from across international football will come together at Fairmont Quasar Istanbul | Luna Ballroom for Football Conference Istanbul by FootEx.
Under the theme BEYOND 90 MINUTES, the two-day conference will bring the people behind some of football’s most important decisions onto the same stage, creating a meeting point for club Presidents, Sporting Directors, Chief Scouts, recruitment specialists, football executives and professionals working across data, technology and artificial intelligence.
Powered by Comparisonator and supported by The Book of Scouting, Football Conference Istanbul will connect professional experience with new ideas and technologies shaping the future of the game.
Where Football Experience, Knowledge and Technology Meet
Modern football decisions are no longer made from a single perspective. Recruitment departments combine live scouting with video and data. Sporting Directors balance squad requirements with financial realities. Club Presidents must connect sporting ambition with sustainable management. At the same time, artificial intelligence and new technologies are changing how information can be transformed into practical football decisions. Football Conference Istanbul has been created around these conversations.
Rather than looking at football only through what happens during the 90 minutes on the pitch, the conference will explore the decisions, people, structures and technologies behind the game.
That is the idea behind BEYOND 90 MINUTES.
Powered by Comparisonator
As an Event Partner, Comparisonator brings football technology, data and AI into the heart of the conference. Comparisonator works with professional football organisations across international markets, supporting scouting, recruitment, player evaluation and performance analysis through its football intelligence technology.
During Football Conference Istanbul, the conversation will move beyond simply having access to more data. Speakers will explore a much more important question: How can clubs turn information into better football decisions? From identifying talent in international markets to evaluating transfer suitability and understanding player performance, Comparisonator’s involvement reflects the growing connection between traditional football expertise and modern technology.
Supported by The Book of Scouting
Football Conference Istanbul is also supported by The Book of Scouting – Volume One: From Intuition to Evidence, authored by Tarkan Batgün. Built around knowledge and perspectives from experienced professionals across international football, The Book of Scouting examines player evaluation through live scouting, video analysis, data intelligence and tactical fit, while exploring how experienced human judgement can work alongside evidence and technology. Several professionals connected with The Book of Scouting will also take the stage in Istanbul, extending those conversations from the pages of the book to direct discussions with the conference audience.
A dedicated presentation of The Book of Scouting – Volume One: From Intuition to Evidence will take place during the first day of the conference.
The People Behind Football’s Decisions
Football Conference Istanbul will feature professionals whose careers span some of the most recognised clubs and organisations in international football.
The keynote speaker line-up includes figures with experience at Liverpool FC, Olympique de Marseille, Juventus, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Southampton, UEFA, the Turkish Football Federation, Beerschot, FC Famalicão, FC Hradec Králové, Kasımpaşa, Panachaiki FC and Erzurumspor FK, alongside football technology, scouting and industry professionals.
But the purpose of the conference is not simply to put recognised names on a stage.
Each session has been designed around the real decisions professionals face inside football: How does a player become a genuine transfer target? Who ultimately decides whether a club signs a player? Where will the next undervalued markets emerge? How should clubs integrate AI and data without losing human judgement? And what does it actually take to lead a football club beyond what supporters see on the pitch?
BEYOND 90 MINUTES
Scouting. Recruitment. Leadership. Data. Artificial Intelligence. Player development. Club management. Football Conference Istanbul brings these different areas of the game into one conversation.
For the Comparisonator community, it is also an opportunity to move Beyond 90 Minutes and meet the Presidents, executives, Sporting Directors, Chief Scouts and football professionals whose decisions shape the game every day.
