Briefing by Gauteng MEC for Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Barbara Creecy, during the Soccerex briefing, Sandton Conversion Centre

On 25 to 29 November 2007 Gauteng will take centre stage when we host the world's largest football exhibition, Soccerex, on South African soil.

Working closely with our partners, we will ensure that Soccerex is a successful event for both our province and the country. In the run up to hosting Federation for International Football Association's (Fifa) 2010 World Cup, Gauteng will play a leading role in hosting the Confederations Cup in 2009. During the 2010 Fifa World Cup, Gauteng will play host to a number of qualifying matches, a quarter final and the final.

I am pleased today, to announce that we will also use the opportunity provided by Soccerex Gauteng to launch an exciting new five-a-side tournament in partnership with South African Football Association (Safa) Gauteng Structures, the Sportsman Group of companies, the Sunday Times and Puma. This event starts in October this year and includes 96 community based clubs from across the province. The tournament culminates on the eve of Soccerex with the finals serving as the curtain raiser to the game between African and European Legends taking place at Mandela Square on the 25 of November 2007.

The five-a-side programme will contribute to developing young talent amongst both men and women and will also enhance our project to building the love of football amongst the youth.

As you all know the Gauteng Provincial Government is subsiding exhibition space for Small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs), over 50% of which has already been allocated. We are also subsidising 30 SMMEs with daily passes to the Soccerex event

Soccerex will contribute enormously to our economy through job creation and to the development of our football fraternity as it will afford us networking opportunities as well as the opportunity to learn and share experiences and skills with top international sports personalities and business people.

This event is an important milestone in building the Gauteng City Region as a premier destination for competitive sport, tourism and investment. It will bring football associations, clubs, football legends, businesses, media and business people from all over the world to Gauteng from 2007 to 2009 and will boost sustainability of our sport and tourism industries beyond 2010.

The 2010 Fifa World Cup holds prospects for the Gauteng City Region to provide a world class event, and enable us to fast track our priorities such as accelerated economic growth, job creation, poverty alleviation, road and transport infrastructure, and safety and security.

In conclusion, we are looking forward to showcasing our province's creative wealth to the thousands of Soccerex delegates who will be coming here in November. A range of arts and cultural activities are planned to showcase our unique creative industries offerings and talents. This will include performances by local artists and musicians at some of the key Soccerex events as well as craft displays and photography exhibitions on soccer fashion and our soccer history.

Thank you.