Blatter expected at Soccerex
Ndaba Dlamini
10 July 2008
Soccerex will kick up a notch this year, with Fifa president Sepp Blatter expected to take part in a one-to-one panel debate concerning the "6+5" rule and the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
The world's biggest business-to-business soccer convention, taking place at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg in November, will feature panel discussions, exhibitions, a football festival, football workshops and a host of celebrity guests from the football world.
The international convention is in its twelfth year and indications are that it will be bigger and better than last year's event, held at the same venue.
Under the "6+5" rule, which the world football governing body is planning to implement, a club team must start a match with at least six players who would be eligible for the national team of the country in which the club is located.
Blatter, the architect of the rule, says the "6+5" rule is crucial to the future of football. Over the years, by signing more and more foreign players, clubs have gradually lost their identities, first locally and regionally, and today even nationally, as in some cases all players hail from other countries or even from other continents.
Delegates will also hear the thoughts of the Fifa president on preparations for the 2010 World Cup, an issue that has been debated around the world. Some media quarters have even spoken of a "plan B" drawn up by Fifa in case South Africa fails to meet the requirements for staging the tournament in 2010.
Gerard Houllier, the former director of the Clairefontaine Football Academy in France, will take part in a series of panel discussions on How to win a World Cup. Houllier, who has a wealth of knowledge and experience to share on developing talent capable of winning football's greatest prize, developed the nucleus of the French side that won the 1998 Fifa World Cup.
Sir Clive Woodward, who coached the English team that won the 2003 rugby World Cup and who is an expert in elite performance, will take part in the same series. Woodward has worked in the football sector and, more recently, was appointed the director of elite performance of the British Olympic Association.
Soccerex 2008 will include a panel entitled Brand it like Beckham, a look at the marketing behind one of biggest brands in world sport. David Beckham's manager, Terry Byrne, will take part.
Football festival
In 2007, the Soccerex Football Festival attracted a huge number of spectators to Sandton Square. This year's festival promises better entertainment, with a Barcelona team expected at the event.
Kagiso Exhibitions and Events has been confirmed as the title sponsors for the festival, taking place on 23 November. Gordon Metz, the group's chief executive, says the football festival represents a public interface between the business-to-business platform and the wider public audience.
Four teams are scheduled to play in 2008 Football Festival:
- Liverpool Legends, captained by Phil Thompson;
- Manchester United Legends, captained by Bryan Robson;
- Barcelona Legends, captained by Julio Salinas; and
- South African Select Legends, captained by Lucas Radebe.
A festival highlight will be a coaching session for local players by members of the David Beckham Academy.
MATCH, Soccerex's travel and accommodation partner and the official travel company for the 2010 World Cup, will hold a workshop within Soccerex for the 160 officially appointed travel operators.
Travel operators are expected to learn more about their options in the build up to 2010; they will also be able to network with suppliers involved in the World Cup.
Ray Whelan, the chairman of MATCH, says the company has taken three times as many travel package bookings for Soccerex 2008 as it had at this time last year.
Source: City of Johannesburg
