Posted in News on Nov 30, 2004.
The vice-president of Arsenal Football Club, David Dean, went through the success of the Premier League and of Arsenal in the past, present and future plans.
Dean is a very respected business man who has contributed immensely to the formation and success of the Premier League as well as taking Arsenal to greater heights.
After his presentation he visited the Kaizer Chiefs stand with the Premiership trophy won by Arsenal last season and met with Kaizer Motaung, our chairman for whom he has great admiration and respect for.
Dean was presented with a Kaizer Chiefs jersey and a complete hamper of the club.
Chiefs also discussed the opportunity of hosting Arsenal next year in South Africa to celebrate their 35th year anniversary. Dean seemed very interested and we will definitely pursue this opportunity.
Meanwhile, Soccerex first day of expo and conference ended on a very high note for South Africa with Danny Jordan CEO Safa, Trevor Phillips, CEO of the PSL and Mvuso Mbebe, CEO SABC Sport showcasing the new football opportunities that lie within South Africa in a conference titled Gateway to South Africa.
The three respective leaders in their industries gave a detailed and positive outlook on the opportunities within South African football and the growth thereof in the past years.
The panel of discussion was very interesting and touched on many aspects including stadium security and TV broadcast.
The feedback from the South Africa panel of discussion was very positive and South African football and business came across as very professional and organised, overall a good day for South Africa and a good representation for
South African football in the international soccer arena.
Another interesting conference was hosted by Markus Siegler, Director of Communications of Fifa who gave a very interesting talk of media and the influence of media in the world football industry in a workshop titled "Is media driving the Worlds football agenda?".
It was interesting to view how Fifa conceive the relationship with the media a real and true partnership & that both parties benefit from equally.
Infrastructures and facilities provided to the media were also discussed and also the that in the near future for media to pay a fee for participating in media events. This last issue was discussed at length as it is a delicate subject.
It's in Fifa's interest and that of in football in general to get the exposure that the media offers but at the same time the media are selective over which events to review or participate in and that causes great inconvenience especially when thousands of seats are booked for them and they do not turn up.
Kaizer Chiefs Brand Manager, Vivian also had the opportunity to have a one on one chat with Siegler where she discussed Fifa's Media Policy with him and also discussed the question of where do you draw the line between freedom of speech and "abuse" of players integrity, referring specifically to the language used by Walter Mokoena in a live broadcast in describing Collins Mbesuma.
Siegler stated that when media attacks the integrity of the player the club must take the issue further and get media
lawyers involved as both the integrity of the club and of the individual players are at stake and that media should always know within which confines they can operate in the respect of the sport.
Ultimately the integrity of the media journalist is also at stake when personal or unverified opinions or quotes are made.
The discussion was very interesting and refreshing and will definitely adds value to the Chiefs overall communication strategy in the future.