Soccerex turns spotlight on 2010 FIFA World Cup

"This introduces probably the most hectic week in South African football."
These words, spoken by the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ Organising Committee's (OC) Chief Executive Officer, Dr Danny Jordaan, indicate how important the next few days will be to the 2010 FIFA World Cup and football in general. Danny Jordaan was speaking at the Soccerex press conference in Sandton, Johannesburg yesterday.
Packed into the next week is Soccerex 2008 as well as the final draw for the FIFA Confederations Cup™ 2009. The football world's eyes are on South Africa and most likely will not leave until the end of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. As far as the OC is concerned they can keep looking because the more people that witness the success of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the better.
Soccerex showcases the business side of world football and has proved to be a popular global event on the football calendar. Originally Soccerex, which is expected to attract around 4000 delegates from 95 countries, was hosted in Dubai but since last year Gauteng was chosen as its new home, proving that we are capable of handling important football events.
Although Soccerex is a truly global event, Gauteng MEC for sports, arts, recreation and culture, Barbara Creecy, highlighted that there is a strong focus on local involvement in this year's event. This forms part of the broader goal of making the 2010 FIFA World Cup a truly African affair. "In an effort to promote our domestic football industry and share the benefits of Soccerex with other South African cities and provinces, we have ensured that all nine provinces and all the major cities have exhibition stands," said Creecy.
For Jordaan, Soccerex is an important event as it provides a benchmark for the global football community. "Soccerex gives us an opportunity once a year to review the challenges facing football worldwide". This year's Soccerex is highlighting the progress South Africa has made in terms of preparing for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Present at the press conference was former Bafana Bafana and Leeds United captain, Lucas Radebe, who was there in his capacity as an ambassador for Soccerex. Lucas Radebe showed his excitement for the 2008 Kagiso Soccerex Football Festival which takes place at Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton on 23 November. The festival sees football legends pitted against each other for the trophy. Last year Radebe was part of the African All Star team which managed to lift the trophy, battling against teams representing Manchester United, FC Barcelona and Liverpool FC. Chief executive officer of Soccerex, Duncan Revie, believes that the All Stars will once again lift the trophy. "If you have any money to wager, wager it on Africa," said Revie.