Honorary Life President of FIFA confirmed for Soccerex Rio

Soccerex announced that Dr João Havelange the Honorary Life President of FIFA and father of modern football has confirmed that he will address delegates on the opening day of the Soccerex Global Convention 2010.

As well as being President of FIFA from 1974 to 1998, Dr Havelange is the longest serving member of the International Olympic Committee, was President of the CBF (Confederação Brasileira de Futebol) for 17 years, a member of the Brazilian Olympic committee from 1955 to 1963 and even competed as a swimmer in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games and as part of the Brazilian water polo team in 1952 Olympic games in Helsinki.

The Global Convention will be exhibiting a selection of the many prestigious awards received by Dr Havelange during his lifetime, just some of which are the Cavalier of the Légion d’honneur (France), the Order of Special Merit in Sports (Brazil), the Commander of the Cavaliers of the Ordem Infante Dom Henrique(Portugal), the Cavalier of the Vasa Orden (Sweden) and the Grand Cross of Elizabeth the Catholic (Spain).

The event will also feature a football legacy panel named after Dr Havelange, who has done so much to promote the importance of legacy in sport. It will bring together a panel of experts and key figures involved in social responsibility with the football industry and will focus on the situation in Brazil and the social legacy the 2014 World Cup needs to leave on the country.

The Soccerex Global Convention (20-24 November 2010) will consist of an in-depth conference schedule, packed exhibition, a large range of networking and two-day Football Festival all taking place in the Forte de Copacabana, Copacabana beach and Sugar Loaf Mountain, Rio de Janeiro. iSportconnect is the official Social Media Partner of the event.