An impressive line up of speakers and panellists including Richard Caborn, UK sports minister, Richard Scudamore, chief executive of the Premier League, Eelco van der Noll, director of marketing for FIFA and Johan Jervoe, corporate vice president, global marketing for McDonald’s, among many others, delivered insights and discussion on a wide range of topics.
Richard Caborn said that sport finds itself at an important crossroads and pointed to the importance of the forthcoming European White Paper on sport in developing the future direction of sport, and especially, football’s governance.
A debate on stadium development threw up several interesting topics with Danny Jordaan, chief executive of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, commenting that the hosting of the 2010 World Cup was about much more than building stadia and is about building a new economic and sporting legacy for the country.
In the panel on sponsorship and partnership, Esteve Calzada, chief marketing officer of FC Barcelona, explained the club’s rationale for putting the Unicef logo on its shirts. Calzada said the club was looking for a brand match for its values of community and for its position as ‘more than a club.’ Unicef he said embodied these principles.
Andrew Croker’s interview with Richard Scudamore covered a huge range of topics including the distribution of TV monies, the Premier League’s response to the West Ham situation and its stance on YouTube and intellectual property rights. Scudamore said the league would continue to focus on its three main pillars, attendance, TV rights and its corporate social responsibility commitments. He said one of the biggest challenges going forward was the overarching issue of protection of IP rights.
Meanwhile UK newspapers are reporting that Soccerex chief executive Duncan Revie, the son of legendary Leeds manager Don Revie, is lining up a bid to take over newly relegated Leeds United football club.
Duncan Revie, it is said, has financial backing from a Middle East consortium.
