Ali Can Peçenek is a rising figure in Turkish football, combining experience in club management, academic research, and football governance. With a background in international relations and sports management, he offers a well-rounded perspective on football operations and youth development.
Education & Academic Work
Ali holds a BA in Political Science from Bilkent University, an MA in Global and Regional Studies from Ankara University, and an MA in Sports Management from Gazi University, where he graduated with honors. He is now pursuing a PhD., which will be completed at the end of July, on football club management structures in England and Spain, with a planned bilingual book release in the UK and Spain by late summer 2025.
Since 2023, he has been co-lecturing on football management and globalization at Gazi and Lokman Hekim Universities. His published research covers football economics, transfer systems, and Olympics.
Football Club Experience
Currently working as a freelance consultant, Ali advises clubs on club management, talent identification, performance analysis, and commercial planning. He helps clubs align operations with market trends and governance demands, working closely with technical staff, executives, and external partners.
In 2023–2024, he was involved in a club acquisition project, meeting with over 40 clubs across Europe. This led to the successful takeover of a Romanian SuperLiga team.
Previously, he served as Assistant Sporting Director at MKE Ankaragücü, focusing on institutional development, legal affairs, economic transformation, international relations, and performance strategy. Since 2022, Ali has been active in the Association of Sporting Directors (ASD), contributing to knowledge-sharing, innovation, and strategic leadership development in football.
Our Exclusive Interview with Ali Can Peçenek
What inspired you to pursue a career that blends football management with academic research?
As the son of a linguistics professor and a former national team goalkeeper, my life has always been shaped by both football and academia. While building my career in football, I have consistently prioritized education. I aim to pursue a dual path, contributing to the academic field of sport management through teaching and research, while also applying this expertise in executive or consultancy roles within professional football organizations.
What are your future plans in combining academic work with hands-on roles in football management?
My future plans focus on creating a strong link between academic lecturing and practical involvement in football management. At the university level, my goal is to develop and teach a curriculum that is both theoretically sound and aligned with industry needs, using current case studies and personal field experience. This includes incorporating modules on governance, strategic management, performance analytics, and ethical decision-making in football. I also aim to supervise graduate research that addresses real-world challenges faced by clubs, federations, and leagues, contributing to the evidence-based development of football management practices.
Parallel to my academic work, I plan to maintain an active role within the professional football ecosystem. Involvement in football operations will keep me closely aligned with the evolving realities of modern club management, while ensuring that my academic efforts stay grounded in practical experience. This dual engagement enables a dynamic exchange of knowledge: theoretical models can inform strategic decisions and organizational processes, while real-world insights can refine academic theories and teaching methods.
What were the biggest challenges and lessons from your recent club acquisition project across Europe?
One of the most significant challenges in the recent club acquisition project across Europe was navigating the diverse regulatory frameworks and financial governance models of different national football associations. Each country had unique legal requirements, licensing procedures, and stakeholder dynamics, requiring a highly adaptive, jurisdiction-specific strategy. Cultural differences in organizational behavior and governance practices further complicated efforts to align investor expectations with local operations.
A key lesson from this process was the importance of due diligence beyond financial metrics, especially in evaluating institutional culture, youth development systems, and stakeholder relationships. The experience also highlighted the need to involve local legal and sport management experts early in the process to reduce risks and support smoother post-acquisition integration.
How do you see the role of football consultants evolving in today’s increasingly data-driven and global football landscape?
The role of football consultants is evolving rapidly in response to the growing datafication, financialization, and globalization of the sport. Modern consultants operate as strategic intermediaries, working across analytics teams, ownership structures, legal departments, and ESG frameworks. They are tasked with connecting institutional strategy to detailed performance metrics, ensuring alignment between sporting success, financial health, and regulatory demands.
A key driver of this shift is the rise of data-driven decision-making. Metrics such as expected goals, player load indexes, biometric data, and recruitment algorithms have replaced intuition with evidence-based analysis. Consultants must now translate complex data into practical insights for executives, technical directors, and coaching staff, often integrating concepts from behavioral economics, organizational psychology, and AI-based scouting.
They also play a critical role in embedding sustainability and governance into club operations. As scrutiny from fans, regulators, and investors increases, consultants guide organizations in adopting diversity initiatives, environmental reporting, and anti-corruption measures.
Today’s football consultant is no longer a peripheral figure, but a central architect of sustainable, data-informed, and globally competitive football structures. Their value lies in synthesizing diverse inputs into strategic direction that connects performance with institutional goals.
What changes would you like to see in Turkish football governance and club structures in the coming years?
In the coming years, Turkish football governance and club structures must undergo a fundamental transformation rooted in data-driven decision-making, institutionalization, and a renewed commitment to transparency and accountability. A critical area requiring reform is the organizational design of football clubs. Most Turkish clubs still operate with outdated hierarchies and informal governance structures that hinder innovation, agility, and long-term planning. Implementing modern governance frameworks with clearly defined roles, performance metrics, and decision rights will create the structural discipline needed for continuous improvement and strategic alignment.
Moreover, cultivating a high-performance culture must become a central organizational objective. This entails fostering a meritocratic environment in which competency, professional education, and multilingual capabilities are prioritized in executive appointments. Leaders fluent in multiple languages and trained in global sport management practices can serve as critical conduits between local realities and international opportunities.
Equally important is the enhancement of accountability mechanisms. Independent auditing, internal compliance units, and transparent reporting systems must become institutional norms rather than exceptions.
Lastly, a fundamental shift in footballing perspective is necessary. Turkish football must embrace a more systems-oriented, long-term vision that balances performance with development, business growth with social responsibility, and domestic priorities with international networking. Establishing transnational partnerships and participating in global knowledge exchange platforms will be key in repositioning Turkish football as a strategic actor within the European football economy.
In summary, the transformation of Turkish football requires a convergence of institutional reform, cultural realignment, and global integration, anchored in principles of transparency, meritocracy, and data intelligence.
Where do you see yourself making the biggest impact in football over the next decade?
Over the next decade, I envision my most significant impact in football emerging at the intersection of institutionalization, digital transformation, and integrity-centered governance. As football faces increasingly complex challenges, from financial volatility to reputational risks, there is a growing need for leadership rooted in transparency, data-driven decision-making, and sustainable growth models. I aim to contribute by designing institutional frameworks that promote accountability, reduce operational inefficiencies, and embed anti-corruption measures as essential standards of conduct.
A key element of this vision is the development of centralized data hubs within clubs and federations, integrating performance metrics, financial data, fan engagement analytics, and ESG compliance into a unified operational system. This integration will enhance decision-making across departments, from recruitment to sponsorship strategy, while reducing human error and bias and enabling faster, more objective learning cycles.
At the same time, I will focus on building a high-performance culture based on meritocracy, cross-functional learning, and psychological safety. These values are often overlooked in traditional football structures. This cultural shift will support broader European integration goals and ensure alignment with UEFA and EU governance standards, particularly in regions with weaker institutional foundations.
Ultimately, I see my role as a credibility multiplier, helping clubs and federations earn lasting trust from fans, partners, and regulators by consistently upholding transparency, ethical leadership, and strategic foresight. Through this comprehensive approach, I aim to help shape a football ecosystem that is competitive, commercially strong, institutionally resilient, and socially responsible.