FIFA boss Blatter misses Soccerex’s big kick off
SEPP Blatter, the boss of football’s world governing body FIFA, failed to appear in the flesh as the Soccerex Global Forum kicked off in Manchester.
Hundreds of delegates, football officials and a large media contingent had to make do with a staged video interview instead as Mr Blatter blamed work commitments for his late Manchester no-show.
Over the coming days Soccerex’s Global Forum will see football leaders, administrators, expert advisers, top clubs and of course numerous former players, gathering at Manchester Central to network, showcase their wares and of course talk business.
The event was launched by Sir Bobby Charlon and Manchester City Council chief executive Sir Howard Bernstein, who welcomed the guests at the Manchester Central conference centre.
He said sport was worth nearly £1bn the local economy and football more than £300m a year – not only from the two major football clubs – but from related sectors and services.
Having previously hosted Soccerex’s European meetings, this is the first time the annual global event has been held in Manchester, which will be host city until 2017.
Sir Howard said: “We all talk about importance of sport as a mechanism for supporting positive outcomes socially. Almost 20,000 jobs are related to sport in our Manchester local economy. Football is one of the generators of our growth. It’s not just United and City.
“For us Soccerex is about football and business engaging with the wider community. We believe Manchester is a strong platform to deliver these sorts of outcomes.”
He highlighted the positive community benefits that are being seen in east Manchester as a result of Manchester CIty FC’s investment in the Etihad Campus and City Football Academy.
In his video interview Mr Blatter did reveal that he would be standing for a fifth term at FIFA’s helm, stating that he feels his “mission” is not complete. He said too that a system allowing football managers to challenge some refereeing decisions would be explored.
