SoccerEx to bid Mzansi farewell in style

The 2009 SoccerEx will be even bigger and better this time around with an impressive guest line-up that will feature the who's who of the global football community.

This will be the last Expo of this kind to be staged in South Africa prior to the 2010 Fifa World Cup draw.

The organisers of this year's football Expo have gone out of their way to ensure that around 100 countries will be represented with over 3000 delegates expected to attend. In addition to that, there will be over 160 representatives from 98 clubs coming from 25 different countries. Add to that around 200 exhibitors and you get a recipe for a great SoccerEx.

Gauteng premier Nomvula Mokonyane will be in attendance and will officially open the SoccerEx along with SA Football Association (Safa) president Kirsten Nematandani. Then Fifa president Sepp Blatter will share his thoughts and expectations about the Expo as well as the 2010 World Cup draw.

South Africa 2010 local organising committee chief executive Danny Jordaan, Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira and Brazilian Football Federation president Ricardo Teixeira are all set to share their thoughts on how to stage a successful World Cup both on and off the field.

The Premier Soccer League (PSL) will facilitate a panel session title "The future of sports marketing" and eight clubs in attendance.

German football legend and Bayern Munich president Franz Beckenbauer will also be in attendance and is expected to speak at the event and will be available for interviews.

Other speakers include former England and Mexico manager Sven Goran Eriksson, David Dein, former Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier and another former England manager Glenn Hoddle.

The SoccerEx will culminate into a gala dinner on Tuesday and it gets even better with football legends such as Carlos Alberto Torres, Ossie Ardiles, Mario Kempes, Eusebio and Roger Milla expected to share their thoughts in the beautiful game.

Then there is a Football Festival that will feature teams from England, South Africa, Holland and Brazil with an incredible 1000 caps between them.

Then the 2009 SoccerEx will also provide a platform for seven of the nations that are bidding to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cup with an opportunity to see how things are done here as well as to sell their campaigns to nations that will be in attendance.

Over the years, the SoccerEx has been such a great success largely due to the support it receives across the spectrum. This year is no different with five members of the Fifa executive committee expected to attend.

Soon after that, the SoccerEx will head off to Brazil for the next four years. And to ensure that they continue the winning culture of the SoccerEx, Brazil, who will host the 2014 World Cup, will have over 200 delegates in attendance.

While it will be their final convention in SA, the SoccerEx organisers have pledged to return 2011 for an African Forum - a two-day event focusing on the development of African Football industry (player acedemies, elite talent, legacy projects etc).