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The international football convention will add to Joburg's economy, but its
impact will not stop there. Other spin-offs include a sports complex in
Soweto.
Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa announces the setting up a sports centre in Mapetla
A
SPORTS complex will be built in Soweto as one of the legacy projects
associated with the hosting of the business-to-business soccer convention,
Soccerex, in Johannesburg from 25 to 28 November.
Making the announcement at the Sandton Convention Centre, the venue for the
four-day event, on Wednesday, 21 November, Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa said
that the organisers of Soccerex had made a commitment to set up a sports centre
in Mapetla.
"The centre … will serve as a hub for educational, life skills and talent
identification programmes. [It] will comprise of a full-size soccer field, four
five-a-side areas, each with colourful borders of red, blue, yellow and white
surrounding the green playing area, and two play courts for tennis, netball and
basketball."
It also forms part of the province's drive to deal with poverty and
underdevelopment in Gauteng. Shilowa said competitive sport had the ability and
the potential not only to provide lots of entertainment for people, but,
critically, to create jobs and grow the economy.
Major events such as Soccerex and the World Cup would bring thousands of
international visitors to the province, helping Gauteng to market and position
itself as a globally competitive region.
"They give us an opportunity to showcase the immense opportunities that
Gauteng, and indeed the country as a whole, have as a destination for tourism,
investment and other major events."
Staging Soccerex would also provide an impetus to attract other local and
international events to the province, building the sports sector of the economy
and opening up economic opportunities for citizens.
"Our aim is also that Soccerex should contribute to our preparations to host
a successful FIFA World Cup in 2010, and we are pleased to note FIFA president
Sepp Blatter's close association with and support for Soccerex," Shilowa said.
Since winning the bid to host Soccerex, Gauteng has identified opportunities
to maximise its benefits and leave lasting legacies. It has also provided
subsidies for small, medium and micro enterprises to exhibit at Soccerex, in
support of small business development.
Through the Gauteng Economic Development Agency (Geda), the province is
hosting business development seminars and has forged relationships with other
southern African countries to use Soccerex as a platform to build the business
of football.
To support sports development and open opportunities for young people to
participate in the convention, Gauteng has set up a five-a-side soccer
tournament in collaboration with the South African Football Association, Safa.
Known as Diski 5 DP, the programme is part of an initiative to develop football
among people under the age of 20.
Regional tournaments have already taken place and teams from Ekurhuleni, West
Rand, Tshwane, Johannesburg, Sedibeng and Metsweding will compete in the finals
in Sandton on 25 November, before the Kagiso Soccerex Football Festival.
That festival, sponsored by Kagiso Exhibition and Events, is a five-a-side
football extravaganza in which leading English football teams like Manchester
United and Liverpool will battle it out with African All Stars and a Soccerex
Select team.
During the four-day Soccerex, taxis that will transport delegates from the
airport to their hotels have been accredited and the drivers trained in customer
care. The bright yellow taxis will be monitored and dispatched from a central
point to ensure passenger safety.
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