Dubai wins over football
Perhaps it’s the idea of experiencing the urban miracle of a metropolis growing between the sea and the desert, but the bond which Globe Soccer has created between Dubai and football has proven to be unbreakable. Media attention, a massive TV presence, stimulating work sessions. All with the involvement of key representatives of the football world and market operators who are present for almost a week at each edition, before, during and after the scheduled activities. In the first two editions, all the footballing continents were accredited, football institutions were among the guests (FIFA, UEFA, AFC, EFAA, ECA, agents and directors, federations, leagues, the leading authorities from the United Arab Emirates) and several teams (including teams from Egypt and Qatar, as well as a significant European presence). There were also extraordinary free-time activities, with trips amidst the desert dunes and the incredible inauguration of Burj Kalifa (the highest tower in the world) at the heart of the first edition and the outstanding choreography for New Year in Dubai at the second, with fireworks let off from 160 floors of the building which is the pride of a nation which can offer sea and sun for those coming from a cold winter.
A climate of friendship and brotherhood
Globe Soccer’s mission is to ensure sector operators from around the world have a chance to meet on the eve of the final market window envisaged by FIFA. In this sense the result has already gone beyond expectations. Six hundred people were accredited for the first edition, almost a thousand participants for the two days of the second, in a spirit of unity and a reciprocal desire to get to know one another as expressed by the delegates from various continents who were looking for an opportunity to exchange their past experiences and build new ones. If the first edition confirmed the good sense in entrusting this appointment with the football world to Dubai, the second confirmed that the growth of Globe Soccer is destined to produce results which the organisers themselves had not planned for in such a short time.
EFAA and ECA
The main football institutions worldwide have provided Globe Soccer with some of its most important moments. FIFA and UEFA, through their representatives, have explained plans and trends (the future of agents, financial fair play, the situation of TV rights), also starting a debate with EFAA which led to discussion of the cancellation of the register of FIFA agents. The same association of agents chose Dubai for its general meeting during the first edition and three Club World Champions in recent years, AC Milan, Barcelona and Inter Milan, have contributed to its success by taking part in and supporting the initiative. Asia, through the Chairman of its football federation, Mohamed bin Hammam, launched its own challenge at Globe Soccer “the future must belong to those who represent 60 percent of the global population, i.e. Asia”. Soon an answer will have to be forthcoming from Michel Platini and the other football chairmen who have driven the game’s history for over a century. And their answers will come in the same place, Dubai.
Capello and Qatar
Fabio Capello, the England coach and guest of the second edition of Globe Soccer, just a few days after the designation of Qatar as the host country for the 2022 World Cup, made his own statement at Globe Soccer: “The games won’t be played in June-July, but in January: people can’t stand 50 degree heat and it’s not enough to air condition the stadia when millions of people will be on the move”. His declaration, which was reported by the media, opened a discussion which is still ongoing.
The first Awards to Galliani, Mendes and Gil
The tallest tower in the world, 828 metres, a giant which can bear the weight of one hundred thousand elephants, saw the inaugural edition of the Globe Soccer Awards during the second edition, in December 2010. The magic and the charm of this location will again form the backdrop for the next awards ceremony for the agents and directors of the year, with the direct contribution of their respective associations. The past winners include Mendes (best agent 2010), Miguel Angel Gil (best director 2010), and Adriano Galliani (career award). EFAA and ECA are working to finalise the list of candidates for 2011.
