The Soccerex 2005 Dubai Expo came to a successful end on Tuesday 15th November. The final day of exhibition was one filled with mixed emotions as exhibitors used the day to finalize relationships and gather additional information on each other before taking their stands down.

The morning opened with a seminar on Football Governance looking at topics relating to transparency, ethics, accountability and fair play. A Global Sponsorship Panel, which included individuals well known in the arena of sponsorship and commercial or marketing related issues, followed in the programme with the likes of Romy Gai (Juventus), Phillipe Margraff (Chief Operations Officer - UEFA) and Peter Harris (Vodafone).

The second and final segment of the seminar began with a look at the UK story of football. This insightful segment saw individuals from various areas of football in the UK, a strong and solid model followed by many other leagues in the world, take the floor to illustrate the success achieved and highlight the areas of improvement. Dr. Rogan Taylor (Liverpool University), Phil Smith (Head of Policy, The FA) and Rob Young (Consultant) were part of this discussion, which also allowed the audience to compare football models from other parts of the world.

A discussion on the use of technology to enhance service and increase in revenue was also particularly interesting with football representatives from the English League such as Aberdeen FC, Arsenal FC, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers and Southend United. Asia was the next topic of discussion, leaving the floor open to explore the Asian Football arena, looking at the exceptional growth of football quality and commercial growth in this part of the world.

The final segment specifically focused on FIFA Marketing and TV. This topic included discussions on FIFA’s commercial activity, licensing, television rights and FIFA’s plan for 2006 and 2007. This brought the seminar section of the expo to an end with individuals concluding business discussions in the expo hall. Delegates who attended made their last rounds and exhibitors brought their stands down in the late afternoon while the last remaining business cards were exchanged.

Kaizer Chiefs successfully represented South Africa as the most popular team displaying the PSL League trophy and giving as much information as possible to the many curious individuals on the expo floor. Due to the fact that it was Kaizer Chiefs’ third year of exhibition, there were many people who recognised the brand and gathered at the stand to take in the strong soothing yet bold colours creating a positive energy. Kaizer Chiefs’ brand enjoyed brand activation as merchandise including caps, pins, beanies, scarves and many more were given away, which proved to be extremely popular with the delegates as many if not all of them walked away with something from the Amakhosi to be taken home.

Jessica’s parting messages was, “thank you Soccerex 2005 for allowing Kaizer Chiefs to once again represent the South Africa’s best before an audience of such football experience.”

The Amakhosi leave behind a legacy everywhere they go and this year’s Soccerex Expo was no exception.