More than 100 global football business organizations and personalities are set to gather at a Nairobi hotel from October 18-19 to support the African Football Business Summit.
The Summit is a multi-stakeholder engagement platform geared towards building synergies within the football ecosystem, convening private sector investors with community clubs and academies, a declaration towards governance and management in Africa and an integrated dialogue to support the five African teams scheduled to play in the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
This will be Kenya’s first international football business conference, a summit that will bring together over 100 key sports businesses and personalities from FIFA, local and international clubs and leagues, federations, Educators, and government officials, amongst others.
The five African countries that have qualified to participate in the FIFA World Cup 2022, compared to the rich football talent in the continent and the presence of world-class players in major leagues, became one of the driving forces towards creating a platform that addresses the future of African football.
According to a press statement, the annual event inaugurated by the Football Foundation for Africa is also in partnership with FIFA, Football Expo, PARMARS, OTB AFRICA, ZedAfrica, ISDE Law Business School, NMKR, and the Sports Dao that will bring together football stakeholders within the region and global sports sphere; from sports properties, venues and governing bodies, federations, as well as climate stakeholders, academia and private sector investors.
High-Performance Specialist and African Football legend, Anthony Baffoe, said that Africa has very few private sector investors and sports business education programmes visible in the continent to help benchmark the industry to international standards.
“Likewise, we have several facets to the sport’s business in medicine, talent management, technology, education, law, fan base activation, trade and media, to mention a few, that have significant potential to renew the face of African football,” Baffoe added.
The Chief Guest continued: “I look forward to attending the Summit and collaborating with like-minded partners and clubs as we take the next steps towards a sustainable sport in the continent.”
At the same time, the Football Foundation for Africa Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Brian Wesaala said that football is a universal language and a vital component in Africa’s economic and social development and integration.
“It was critical that we bring all these conversations across the continent under one banner and tackle each matter from a multi-disciplinary approach. This Summit is incredibly powerful, and the rich-lined up conversations indicate that we are ready to commit and re-write history,” stated Wesaala.
The African Football Business Summit was launched last year with five key objectives touching on investments, talent management, FIFA World Cup 2022, governance and the future of the sport in the continent in addition, to Provide a platform for Africa’s football management community to discuss the game’s future in Africa and to bring together government, private sector, and academia stakeholders to understand the football ecosystem and explore synergies and collaborations to develop football across the continent.
Other objectives include providing a platform for the football communities, primarily clubs and academies, to showcase their work, share knowledge and source for investment. The Summit seeks to engage prospective investors and the private sector to do business with football: Secondly, the declaration to improve the governance of football in Africa and collaborative development of the African football industry and thirdly; to unite Africa behind the five teams that will be representing the continent at the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
The Summit will convene speakers from FIFA, African Union Sports Council, Educators from Daystar University and ISDE Law Business School (Spain), Sports Connect Africa, local and regional clubs and federations, French Club AS Monaco officials, TSG Hoffenheim, Adrenaline Solutions, Simba Sports Club, South African Football Association, renowned sports journalists amongst others covering an array of topics from a judicial system for African sports to sports media and broadcasting and communicating with fans on sustainability.
By Michael Omondi
