Last week, I travelled to Manchester, UK to
attend my 3rd consecutive Soccerex Global Convention. As always, it was a packed 3 days full of
shotgun conversations, panel discussions and booze.
attend my 3rd consecutive Soccerex Global Convention. As always, it was a packed 3 days full of
shotgun conversations, panel discussions and booze.
I must say that for the second straight
year, the Indian delegation stood out as some of the most sought after people
at the event given the popularity and excitement generated by the first season
of the Indian Super League.
year, the Indian delegation stood out as some of the most sought after people
at the event given the popularity and excitement generated by the first season
of the Indian Super League.
Here are the highlights of the trip from my
end:
end:
- A successful panel discussion entitled,
“India: The Time Is Now” led by Libero Sports Managing Director Sukhvinder
Singh. The room was packed full of people from all over the world interested in
learning more about the Indian football industry
- Spending quality time at an unforgettable
Brazilian Barbeque dinner with some of my favorite people in the industry
including Tim Vine (Premier League), German Arguelles (eSoccer), Jurgen
Griesback (Street Football World), Rahul Patil (NorthEast United FC), Ashish
Shah (Chennayin FC), Urs Zanitti (AFDP) and, of course, Sukkhi.
- Working with the United Kingdom Trade &
Investment to organize a successful networking event between UK based firms and
our delegation
- Taking some of the delegates and a few
family friends on a guided tour of Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium
- The few minutes that I took out for myself
to reflect on how far I’ve come and how far Libero Sports has come in the world
of global football
A big takeaway for me this year was that
for the first time I started to filter my conversations rather than entertain
every single person who approached our stall.
It’s just easier to be honest when you know that there is nothing which
can be done together rather than lead someone on and waste everyone’s time in
the process.
I know I’ll need some time to unwind from
this trip but am confident that by the beginning of the year I’ll already be
looking forward to organizing our next delegation to Manchester.
this trip but am confident that by the beginning of the year I’ll already be
looking forward to organizing our next delegation to Manchester.
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| “India: The Time is Now” panel discussion |
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| Packed room to watch India session |
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| Some members of the Indian delegation at Etihad Stadium |
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| Sukkhi and I “manning” the Destination India stall |
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| With my amigos German and Jurgen at the National Football Museum |