31.10.2026 19:52
The Turkish Football Federation is preparing to establish a comprehensive player scouting network to discover young footballers of Turkish origin playing in Europe early. Yıldıray Baştürk has been appointed to head the project as "European Coordinator for Youth National Teams," while Mehmet Ekici, İbrahim Dağaşan, and Oğuzhan Özyakup will also track young talents in different countries. The aim will be to create a sustainable, broad national team player pool.
Having started the Sergen Yalçın era in the Turkish National Football Team, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has pressed the button on a critical project that will shape the future of the national teams. It has been claimed that the TFF is preparing to establish a comprehensive scouting network aimed at discovering young talents of Turkish origin playing in Europe at an early age and bringing them into the national team pool.
A CRITICAL ROLE FOR YILDIRAY BAŞTÜRK
Former national footballer Yıldıray Baştürk is reportedly in line to be appointed to head the planned new structure. Baştürk is expected to take on the role of "European Coordinator for Youth National Teams" and to oversee the coordination of the scouting team to be established across Europe.
FORMER NATIONAL STARS ON THE LIST
It has been alleged that, in addition to Yıldıray Baştürk, three more former national footballers well known to Turkish football will take part in the project. The names who will closely monitor young talents in the regions they are responsible for and their areas of responsibility are planned as follows:
- Mehmet Ekici: Germany
- İbrahim Dağaşan: France
- Oğuzhan Özyakup: Belgium and the Netherlands
GOAL: EARLY DISCOVERY AND A BROAD PLAYER POOL
With this new system to be established, the aim is to regularly monitor the development processes of Turkish footballers raised in Europe and to create a sustainable player pool for the national teams in different age categories.