At a Glance

• Jakarta International Convention Center (JICC) + GBK Hall A
• 11–13 September 2026
• 900+ job openings at the Sports Industry Job Fair
• Global Leadership Forum: 4 headline speakers, one stage, one afternoon 

A man in a suit walks past a stage where, minutes earlier, a Dutch football executive was talking about green stadiums  and next to him, a runner in compression socks is checking their bib number for a fitness race. That's the scene at JICC this week, and it sums up exactly what Indonesia Sports Summit (ISS) 2026 was built to do: put the business side of sports and the sweaty, grassroots side of sports in the same room.

Credit : www.indonesiasportsummit.com

What is Indonesia Sports Summit 2026?

Indonesia Sports Summit 2026 is a three-day event held from 11–13 September 2026 at the Jakarta International Convention Center (JICC) in Jakarta, organized by Indonesia's Ministry of Youth and Sports (Kemenpora). Now in its second year, ISS 2026 runs under the theme "Beyond the Game 2.0: From Nation Building to Global Industry," bringing together government officials, sports federations, industry leaders, and job seekers to talk about sports as an economic sector  not just a scoreboard. The summit is free to attend for exhibition and forum access, with a separate paid registration for its Hybrid Race component.

Credit : www.indonesiasportsummit.com

Who spoke at the Global Leadership Forum?

The headline event was the Global Leadership Forum on 11 September at Hall Cendrawasih, JICC. Erick Thohir, Indonesia's Minister of Youth and Sports, opened as keynote speaker. He shared the stage with Rosan Roeslani, CEO of sovereign wealth fund Danantara; Datuk Seri Windsor John, Secretary General of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC); and Menno Geelen, CEO of AFC Ajax Amsterdam, who has led the storied Dutch club since 1 July 2025.

Geelen's session, "Beyond the Pitch: Building Sustainable Football Ecosystems through Green Stadiums, Economic Growth and Community Value," was the one people were talking about in the hallways afterward  a European club executive telling an Indonesian audience how a football club can function like an economic engine, not just a fan base.

"Olahraga tidak hanya menghasilkan prestasi, tetapi juga memiliki potensi ekonomi yang besar bagi masyarakat," Erick Thohir told reporters at JICC on 11 September 2026  arguing that sports needs to stop being treated as a cost and start being treated as an investment.

How much does it cost to attend, and what else is happening?

Exhibition and forum access is free with registration. If you want in on the Jakarta Hybrid Race  co-organized with 20FIT Event, blending running with eight functional stations like SkiErg, Sled Push, and Sled Pull  that requires a paid race registration, and organizers are targeting more than 2,000 participants.

Beyond the forums, ISS 2026 runs a Sports Industry Expo, a Sports Tourism Showcase, and a Sports Industry Job Fair & Career Hub advertising over 900 job openings  a genuinely surprising number for an event most people assume is just about panels and photo-ops. Evenings bring performances from Tulus, Diskoria, and Lomba Sihir, so the summit doesn't feel like a trade show that forgot to have fun.

Why does this matter beyond Jakarta?

Indonesia is chasing more international sporting events, and Thohir pointed to regulatory complexity as a real obstacle to unlocking sport tourism revenue whenever Indonesia hosts global competitions. ISS 2026 is essentially Kemenpora's attempt to get government, private capital, and federations talking through those bottlenecks in the same building  instead of in separate ministries.