"It gives me great pleasure to outline the Gauteng Government's plans for this major and very exciting event. It is of significance that this Expo is taking place as we build up to prepare ourselves for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, with Gauteng hosting three of the official match venues," Creecy said.
"Having witnessed the enthusiasm and interest shown by exhibitors in Dubai during last year's event, I am confident that Soccerex will allow Gauteng and the nation an opportunity to showcase our competitive advantages on the international stage," she added.
For the past six years, Dubai (United Arab Emirates) has been the home of Soccerex and according to James Worrall, Soccerex sales and marketing director, over 250 exhibitors and 3000 delegates from 75 countries attended the 2006 event, culminating to over £1 billion (R14.5 billion) worth of business deals signed off.
Duncan Reeve, CEO of Soccerex, said: "Over the years, Soccerex has attracted the biggest names in world football, representatives from hundreds of clubs, leagues and federations from every continent, culminating in the creation of a truly international environment. It is a must-attend event if you are looking to impress and interact with the key decision-makers in football."
The event was also attended by Mphathisi Filtane, business manager (football) of Johnnic Communications, a firm with which Soccerex has recently signed a three-year deal on media partnership.
"We will make sure that all Soccerex messages and information are well communicated in our various titles, namely Sunday Times, Sowetan, Sunday World, Soccer Life and others, so that the man on the street can understand how to benefit from this kind of event," Filtane told the media.
Soccerex is a perfect networking of businesses, large and small, Reeve said, adding that in the next three years - up to the build-up of the 2010 Soccer World Cup - South African businesses should use this event to interact and co-operate with their foreign counterparts to discuss and create endless business opportunities for participants.
A seminar, organised by the provincial government and attended by small and large businesses, was also held later in the afternoon to discuss how the Government could help SMMEs to participate in this event.
For more information, email , go to www.soccerex.com or call +44 (0)208 742 7100.
