KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube has revealed that R480 million will be injected into the economy of the province through hosting the World Football Summit, which is the biggest event in the football industry currently taking place on African soil for the first time.
Speaking during the World Football Summit opening ceremony at the Durban International Convention Centre today, Premier Dube-Ncube said the road to the 2022 FIFA World Cup goes via Durban as the Summit is being held ahead of the start of the World Cup in Qatar this weekend.
“We look forward to interacting with the clubs, leagues, federations, but also the broadcasters, sponsors, technology companies and all the different companies from across different sectors that are involved in the football industry. At this World Football Summit, we can attest to the fact that football is not just a game, but what has become a mighty global network economy that commands the attention of major investors and is growing in leaps and bounds. In hosting the World Football Summit, as KwaZulu-Natal we again demonstrate our capacity to host Africa and the world in global events,” said Premier Dube-Ncube.
Detailing the economic impact of the football industry, Premier Dube-Ncube said football is a multi-billion industry that if exploited to the fullest contributes immensely to Gross Domestic Product of countries and the global economy.
“We estimate this summit alone will potentially inject approximately R480 million into our economy. Many of you are aware of the tragic loss of more than 440 lives during the floods in April. We are pleased that your presence comes as a welcome boost to our province’s Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan. As KwaZulu-Natal, we want to seize the opportunities in all the new economic frontiers of sports and digital economy for the benefit of many of our young people. We are looking at new industries of the future in order to ensure that our citizens take advantage of the opportunities and they do not only become consumers of services. We reaped handsome dividends in hosting the 2010 World Cup, as it generated more than R3 billion for the City of Durban and Province of KwaZulu-Natal. We are excited at the global marketing exposure that this Summit presents for us and this will surely ignite and further fuel the growing tourist interest in our province,” said Premier Dube-Ncube.
The World Football Summit, which ends on 17 November 2022, is an international gathering of the most influential professionals in the football industry and brings together industry experts, football legends, soccer clubs and federations to KwaZulu-Natal.
“We will continue to work closely with our Football Legends in KwaZulu-Natal to develop the sport of football among boys and girls. We also believe that we are not tapping fully into football’s potential to boost our province not only by hosting Premier Soccer League and FIFA matches, but by hosting international conferences and events such as this one. We will work with the relevant structures on a focused programme that will facilitate and fast track the development of talented footballers so that we can unlock the barriers and they can be scouted by more international clubs,” concluded Premier Dube-Ncube.
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Issued by the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government on behalf of Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube