FIFA and Football Legends to address legacy in Rio

Mon 15th Nov 2010 | Football Industry Events

With only one week to go until the start of the world’s leading football business event, the agenda for the Soccerex Global Convention is complete. The final conference panel will address football’s legacy and will feature Federico Addiechi, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, FIFA, the Brazilian World Cup winning right-back and founder of Bola Pra Frente, Jorginho, and Elias Figueroa, Former Chilean International and Founder and Chairman of the Gol Iluminado Foundation.

Federico Addiechi began his career at FIFA in 2003 in charge of the humanitarian activities and relationships with the United Nations system and NGOs. Since then he has been responsible for the development of FIFA’s Corporate Social Responsibility strategy.

His team also manages Football for Hope, a movement which aims to maximise the role of football as a tool for social development. It coordinates alliances with NGOs and CBOs worldwide supporting over 100 programmes in 50 countries, focusing on health promotion, peace building, children’s rights & education, anti-discrimination & social integration, and the environment, with the aid of football.

He will be joined by Jorginho who, as well as having a glittering club career, playing for teams such as Bayer Munich, São Paulo and Bayer Leverkusen, collected 64 caps for his country and was part of the Brazilian 1994 World Cup winning team.

Off the pitch, Jorginho has founded the charity Instituto Bola Pra Frente, which combines education with social sport, promoting career development for the future. One of Soccerex’s charity partners, Instituto Bola Pra Frente helps underprivileged children from Rio’s Favelas.

Also speaking will be Elías Figueroa, widely recognised as the best Chilean footballer of all time, who collected 47 caps for his country and appeared in the 1966, 1974 and 1982 FIFA^TM World Cups. He was also South American player of the year 3 times in a row.

Elías is Founder and Chairman of the Gol Iluminado Foundation who aim to ensure that all children have access to health care, education, protection and equality through the world’s most popular sport and through its greatest star players.

They will be speaking on a session titled the João Havelange Football Legacy Panel, named after the man who has done so much for modern football and to promote the importance of legacy in sport. Other members of the panel include Lars Grael, Ambassador, Special Olympics Brazil and José Carlos Brunoro, Owner, Brunoro Sport Business.

The panel is part of a larger conference programme which will be running alongside a packed exhibition, a large range of networking events and a two-day Football Festival all taking place in the Forte de Copacabana, Copacabana beach and Sugar Loaf Mountain, Rio de Janeiro.

For further information about this event please call +44 (0)208742 7100 or visit www.soccerex.com/global.

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