Soccerex European Forum: Manchester (March 2012) – Preview
This week the Soccerex European Forum takes place, the first of three events in 2012 under the Soccerex banner. The European Forum is being held in Manchester and is followed later in the year (September) by a two-day seminar in Lagos looking at “Developing Football in West Africa”, with the final event in November as the Soccerex Global Convention takes place in Rio de Janerio.
Who exactly are Soccerex? The company came into existence in 1995 founded by Duncan Revie and his wife Rita Whelan. Their aim was to provide a business event for the football industry. They brought this to fruition in 1996 with the first Soccerex event at Wembley Stadium and encouraged by the inaugural forum returned to the ‘home of English Football’ in 1997. Further development came in the next two years with events in Paris (1998) and Los Angeles (1999). Into the 21st Century, the events have continued to grow and spread around the world as Soccerex has been hosted in Dubai, Singapore, South Africa and Brazil as well as continuing with ‘home’ forums in London and Manchester.
What is Soccerex about? This is best and quite simply answered by the company itself, “…Soccerex is the Global Leader for the Business of Football…”. Football, whether we like it or not, is a business and is amongst the world’s most lucrative industries with an annual turnover estimated at over £16 billion. What Soccerex aims to do is bring “…together the football industry, providing a unique platform for the game to learn, network and do business…”
For the European Forum (28 – 29 March 2012), sessions cover such topics as, Media Rights, Player and Coach development, Betting in Football and Finance as well as workshops looking at the transfer system and social media. The event has attracted top names from football including managers such as Stuart Pearce, Rafael Benetiz, and Terry Venables, ex-players including John Barnes, Gaizka Mendieta, Peter Reid and Gary Neville and respected journalists such as Patrick Barclay, Paul Hayward and Guillem Balague. Amongst the clubs in attendance are, Arsenal, Fulham, Chelsea, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Valencia, Celtic, Rangers, FC Porto and Borussia Dortmund.
There will be a range of articles on this site in relation to the sessions attended, in what should be two intriguing days, looking at the business of football.
Further details regarding the full schedule at the European Forum can be found at http://www.soccerex.com/events/europe/