October 24, 2006
By Tammy O'Reilly
THE world's largest soccer exhibition, Soccerex, will be staged in Gauteng for the next three years.
The event is seen as a coup for the province as it will bring soccer associations, football clubs, businesses and the media from all over the world to Gauteng from November 2007 to 2009. It will also add to the build up to the 2010 Fifa World Cup, which is being held in South Africa. Three of the 10 official match venues are in Gauteng.
Now in its tenth year, the exhibition attracts football legends, top football clubs and football playing nations.
Raymond Hack, SAFA CEO, addressing the media on the soccerex exhibition
Soccerex is the only convention that gives exhibitors and delegates the opportunity to network with suppliers, manufacturers, key buyers and decision-makers in international football.
This year, the exhibition is taking place in Dubai; where more than 3 000 delegates from the soccer fraternity are expected to attend, along with 250 exhibitors from 75 countries. There will be a global exhibition, daily conference sessions and a football match festival.
About R5-billion in business deals were negotiated at last year's exhibition, and by the time Soccerex comes to Gauteng, this figure is expected to jump to R7-billion.
"Football is a multibillion-dollar industry," says Tony Martin, the chairperson of Soccerex. "Just to give you and indication, of all the sports products in the world purchased, 75 percent of them are for football. This is a massive business and the benefits to the Gauteng economy will be huge."
It is projected that Soccerex will bring in more than R700-million to the economy as well as give the province billions of rands worth of media coverage.
"This marks yet another important milestone in our endeavours to build the Gauteng city region as a premier destination for competitive sport," said Paul Mashatile, the Gauteng MEC for finance and economic affairs. "This is a priority, not just because the people of Gauteng are passionate about sport, but also because of the significant economic benefits which accrue from the hosting of such events."
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