Endorsed by the Australian Rugby Union, Soccer Australia, Australian
Football League and the National Rugby League, the Telstra Football Trade Expo is the first event of its kind to be staged in Australia.
The two-day conference on June 12 and 13 will debate and analyse important and relevant sports topics before the final two days on June 14 and 15 are opened to the public.
Among the speakers so far confirmed are Edward Freedman, former Manchester United merchandising managing director; Paul Kind, marketing manager with the NRL; and Ben Buckley, general manager of AFL Commercial operations.
In addition, there will be a special forum involving the bosses of the respective Australian football codes, Wayne Jackson (AFL), David Gallop (NRL), John O'Neill (ARU) and Remo Nogarotto (Soccer Australia).
Said organiser Carolyn Ledowsky: "The Football Business world is going through major changes with the threat to TV rights revenue and the collapse of some international sports marketing companies.
"The sports sponsorship industry is becoming more sophisticated and demanding, particularly with return on investment, while clubs and sports organisations need to increase revenue streams.
"These topics and others will be widely discussed and the Expo is particularly relevant given that Australia is hosting the Rugby World Cup later this year which is the world's biggest sports event in 2003."
