Soccerex ready for NW kick-off
REPRESENTATIVES from football clubs ranging from Accrington Stanley to AC Milan and Brighton to Barcelona are preparing to converge on the North West for next week’s Soocerex forum.
The two-day event at Manchester Central, begins next Tuesday and is set to attract around 1,200 delegates from across Europe.T
This week organisers confirmed that David Gill, chief executive of Manchester United, will complete the line-up of speakers.
Mr Gill – will be quizzed by television presenter Matthew Lorenzo on a range of topics including football finance, club ownership, the England 2018 World Cup bid and the future of the Premier League.
Of particular interest will be his views on club ownership, bearing in mind the continuing furore over the Glazer regime at Manchester United.
The Florida-based family has saddled the club with huge debts since their controversial £800m takeover in 2006 and in recent weeks Mr Gill has come under fire from some protesting fans for his support of the owners.
Other speakers include former Football Association chief executive Brian Barwick, Don Garber, commissioner of Major League Soccer, former Yahoo president Geoff Mallett and Niall Sloane, controller of sport at ITV.
Representatives from many of Europe’s leading football clubs are attending the event. All 20 Premier League Clubs are represented.
As befits the richest club in the world, Manchester City has the biggest number of delegates of any club – with no fewer than 12 attendees, including chief executive Garry Cook and chief marketing officer David Pullan.
