Press release

Key points arising from the Soccerex 2008 Press Conference – 1st July 2008, Sandton Convention Centre, Gauteng, South Africa

Speakers:
Duncan Revie – CEO, Soccerex
Ivor Hoff - Gauteng Provincial Government
Ray Whelan - MATCH events services PTY
Gordon Metz - CEO, Kagiso Exhibition and Events PTY
Glyn Binkin – Personal Manager of Lucas Radebe

Points arising:

• As part of the opening ceremony, Soccerex have lined up FIFA president, Joseph Sepp Blatter to take part in a one to one panel debate. Giving delegates the chance to hear the thoughts of perhaps the most influential man in football on subjects such as the proposed ‘6+5’ rule and the 2010 FIFA World Cup
• Gerard Houllier, the former director of the Clairefontaine football academy in France, is set to take part in one of a series of panels on “How to win a World Cup’. Houllier has a wealth of knowledge and experience to share on how to develop talent capable of winning the football’s greatest prize, as he did with the nucleus of the French side that won the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Also in this series of panels, there will be a session that focuses on what is required to win from a managerial level. Already confirmed for this is former England Rugby Manager and World Cup winner, Sir Clive Woodward.
• The 2008 Conference programme is also set to include a panel entitled ‘Brand it like Beckham’; a look at the marketing behind one the biggest brands in world sport. The panel will feature David Beckham’s manager, Terry Byrne and members of the 19 Management team.
• Kagiso Exhibitions and Events PTY were confirmed as the title sponsor for the Soccerex Football festival on 23rd November. When speaking on their involvement with Soccerex, Gordon Metz CEO of Kagiso said:
  ‘It is a great honour and opportunity to be associated with this world class event. The football festival represents a public interface between the B2B platform Soccerex provides and the wider public audience and we see it as a significant opportunity to give our business international coverage’.
• The 2008 Football Festival will feature the following teams:
  Liverpool legends – to be captained by Phil Thompson
  Manchester United Legends – to be captained by Bryan Robson
  South African Select Legends – to be captained by Lucas Radebe
  Barcelona Legends – new to the festival, the Barcelona team will be captained by Julio Salinas. Duncan Revie expressed his delight at the addition of Barcelona to the line up given their association with Soccerex’s Charity partner, UNICEF.
  Lucas Radebe’s Personal Manager, Glyn Binkin said:
  “Lucas is delighted to be participating again in this exciting event. Last year is South African legends team won the tournament and he will be doing his best to make sure the trophy stays in South Africa where it belongs!’
• One of the highlights of this year’s football festival will be a coaching session for local players by members of the David Beckham academy.
• MATCH, Travel and Accommodation partner to Soccerex and the officially appointed travel company for 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa announced they will be holding a workshop within Soccerex for the 160 officially appointed travel operators. The MATCH workshop will give the travel operators the chance to learn more about their options in the build up to 2010 and their presence at Soccerex will provide a great opportunity for suppliers to meet with all the travel companies involved with the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
• Ray Whelan from MATCH also announced that they have taken 3 times as many travel package bookings for Soccerex 2008 compared to this time last year.

Soccerex 2008, 23 – 26 November, Sandton Convention Centre, Gauteng Province, South Africa.

Soccerex are the leading event providers for the global football industry. Renowned for delivering unique networking platforms, the Soccerex event calendar culminates in a 4-day convention encompassing the ‘Soccerex Experience’.

Soccerex 2008 will see over 4000 delegates and 300 exhibitors from the global football industry descend on Gauteng this November. As result of last year’s convention over £500 million of business will be completed – much of which will be in South Africa, with over half of international delegates indicating a desire to pursue partnerships or set up offices within South Africa within the next 2 years.

Soccerex 2008 is hosted by the Gauteng Provincial Government, Home of Champions and Soccerex 2007 – 2009.