FIFA Secretary General, Fatma Samoura, LaLiga President, Javier Tebas, or Argentina legend and current Chairman of Estudiantes La Plata, Juan Sebastián Verón, are just a few of the international speakers to take the stage.
They will be joined by African leaders such as KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala, SAFA President, Danny Jordaan, Isha Johansen, President of the Sierra Leone Football Federation, or Bafana Bafana legend Sibusiso Zuma.
The inaugural WFS Africa, which has the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government as its main partner, will take place in Durban (South Africa) on March 17th and 18th. Around 1,200 attendees and over 80 speakers from around the globe are expected to take part.
World Football Summit, the biggest event in the football industry is landing in Africa for the first time.
Pic: Supplied
World Football Summit, the event where the football industry meets, is landing in Africa for the very first time. Different reports estimate that around 2.2 billion people could be added to the global population by 2050 and more than half of that growth will occur in the African continent. That, together with Africa’s unmatchable capacity for generating talent, makes the continent a potential international football hub. That’s why this event will mark the beginning of a long-term relationship between WFS and Africa.
While the speakers at this platform for discussion and networking come from all corners of the world, there is a distinct and explicit African focus and some of the biggest names in the African football industry will be on the stages of the Durban International Convention Centre (ICC) on March 17th and 18th to share their insight into the major topics of the day.
The headline name is that of Fatma Samoura, the FIFA Secretary General. Samoura is regularly referred to as the most powerful woman in sports and there are several powerful women who’ll be speaking at this conference.
Fatma Samoura, the FIFA Secretary-General.
Pic: Supplied
In addition to the FIFA Secretary General, another of the female voices at FIFA will be in attendance and speaking as Isha Johansen, the President of the Sierra Leone Football Association, has also been confirmed.
She has been touted as a potential first female leader of FIFA and has been president of her nation’s federation since 2013. She is also the founder of FC Johansen, a Sierra Leone club that started out in 2004 with the objective of using sport to support young people and that made it to the country’s top division.
Desiree Ellis, the Head Coach of South Africa’s women’s national team and the current Confederation of African Football Women’s Coach of the Year, is another confirmed speaker, along with other women making a difference such as Sports Connect Africa CEO, Cynthia Mumbo, Malaika founder, Noëlla Coursaris Musunka, Afro Visionary Legacy founder, Lebogang Chaka, and sportscaster Carol Tshabalala.
With the event being held in South Africa and with various South African topics on the agenda, there will be several voices from the host country. Other local experts include South Africa Football Association president Danny Jordaan or South Africa’s first licensed FIFA agent Michael Makaab, Goal.com’s Africa Managing Editor Steve Blues and former Bafana Bafana player Sibusiso Zuma.
With the KwaZulu-Natal province being the main partner of the event, local political figures will also be sharing their experiences and this includes Premier Sihle Zikalala and Executive Council Members Hlengiwe Mavimbela and Nomusa Dube-Ncube.
There’s also a very international feel to the inaugural WFS Africa, as there is at every WFS event. This is epitomised through speakers such as LaLiga President Javier Tebas, Olympique de Marseille General Director Laurent Colette, World League Forum General Secretary, Jerome Perlemuter, or former Argentina international and Estudiantes chairman Juan Sebastián Verón.
With the summit’s experts hailing from the fields of sponsorship, retail, politics, football governance, technology, journalism, charity work, consultancy, marketing, social media and more, there is insight to be had for every kind of professional in the football industry.