Recreation, Barbara Creecy, during the Soccerex briefing, Sandton Conversion
Centre
19 September 2007
On 25 to 29 November 2007 Gauteng will take centre stage when we host the
world's largest football exhibition, Soccerex, on South African soil.
Working closely with our partners, we will ensure that Soccerex is a
successful event for both our province and the country. In the run up to
hosting Federation for International Football Association's (Fifa) 2010 World
Cup, Gauteng will play a leading role in hosting the Confederations Cup in
2009. During the 2010 Fifa World Cup, Gauteng will play host to a number of
qualifying matches, a quarter final and the final.
I am pleased today, to announce that we will also use the opportunity
provided by Soccerex Gauteng to launch an exciting new five-a-side tournament
in partnership with South African Football Association (Safa) Gauteng
Structures, the Sportsman Group of companies, the Sunday Times and Puma. This
event starts in October this year and includes 96 community based clubs from
across the province. The tournament culminates on the eve of Soccerex with the
finals serving as the curtain raiser to the game between African and European
Legends taking place at Mandela Square on the 25 of November 2007.
The five-a-side programme will contribute to developing young talent amongst
both men and women and will also enhance our project to building the love of
football amongst the youth.
As you all know the Gauteng Provincial Government is subsiding exhibition
space for Small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs), over 50% of which has
already been allocated. We are also subsidising 30 SMMEs with daily passes to
the Soccerex event
Soccerex will contribute enormously to our economy through job creation and
to the development of our football fraternity as it will afford us networking
opportunities as well as the opportunity to learn and share experiences and
skills with top international sports personalities and business people.
This event is an important milestone in building the Gauteng City Region as
a premier destination for competitive sport, tourism and investment. It will
bring football associations, clubs, football legends, businesses, media and
business people from all over the world to Gauteng from 2007 to 2009 and will
boost sustainability of our sport and tourism industries beyond 2010.
The 2010 Fifa World Cup holds prospects for the Gauteng City Region to
provide a world class event, and enable us to fast track our priorities such as
accelerated economic growth, job creation, poverty alleviation, road and
transport infrastructure, and safety and security.
In conclusion, we are looking forward to showcasing our province's creative
wealth to the thousands of Soccerex delegates who will be coming here in
November. A range of arts and cultural activities are planned to showcase our
unique creative industries offerings and talents. This will include
performances by local artists and musicians at some of the key Soccerex events
as well as craft displays and photography exhibitions on soccer fashion and our
soccer history.
Thank you.
Enquiries:
Nomazwe Ntlokwana
Tel: 011 355 2578
Cell: 083 507 8068
Issued by: Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Gauteng
Provincial Government
19 September 2007