July 24 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter has agreed to open the latest Soccerex football business conference in Manchester in September, an appearance that is bound to generate significant interest in the wake of English FA chairman Greg Dyke’s anti-Blatter comments earlier this week.
Blatter will deliver a formal address to Soccerex delegates, addressing the latest issues affecting the global game and looking back on the World Cup in Brazil.
It will be Blatter’s ninth Soccerex appearance over the past 19 years but arguably one of his most eagerly anticipated and is bound to attract a large media presence given his intention to run for a fifth term at next year’s FIFA presidential election.
It will also come at a significant time in relation to the investigation by FIFA prosecutor Michael Garcia into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, with Garcia’s report expected to be delivered to the adjudicatory chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee at roughly the same time.
Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber and FIFA vice president Jim Boyce are also among the expected speakers.
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