'IFA good place to learn football and business'

Kuala Lumpur, Nov 27 (Indianfootball.com-IBNS): The International Football Arena (IFA) Kuala Lumpur 2009 delivered massive knowledge transfer from football's global movers and shakers.

Following two days of intense discussion and keynote lectures, the International Football Arena, the global economic forum of football closed on a high note with a transfer of premium knowledge from the biggest in names in the business.

Peter Kenyon - football icon and the man that led Chelsea FC to their debut in the Champions League Finals in 2008. Peter Kenyon shared on the importance of the marketing machine for football clubs and how sponsorships fit in a company's communication strategy.

Setting the stage for IFA and its cause, Kenyon said of IFA KL 2009, "It is a good place to learn about football and business which goes beyond just being on the field."

This aspect football industry was further emphasized by Kwon, who explained the strategy and objectives behind Samsung Electronics' sponsorship of Chelsea FC. Said Kwon, "Samsung desires to be a global brand and Chelsea fit the profile to drive awareness of Samsung the club is dominant in terms of visibility amongst global media versus the other international clubs."

Participants of the conference also heard trade secrets behind the football industry especially on investments from Keith Harris and the way to create sustainability in player development from Albert Capellas.

Harris, Chairman of investment bank Seymour Pierce, is the dealmaker behind the Premier League's biggest takeovers and arguably the most influential man in British football. He shared investment pointers in recognizing clubs that would provide better returns in investments such as the purchase of Aston Villa by US magnate Randy Lerner. The deal for the club was achieved at £ 62.6 million but Aston Villa is now valued at over £ 250 million.

Harris told the conference, "With club prices peaking about 16 months ago and the favourable pound rate, now is the time to buy football clubs in England."

Meanwhile Capellas, the Senior Youth Coordinator for FC Barcelona, has been responsible for developing young talent at FC Barcelona's "La Masia" academy since 2004. The academy has also been the starter point in grooming the stellar footballing careers of Fabregas, Messi and Buyon.

Explaining the secrets behind the club's sustained stream of football stars and talented players, "The first team at FC Barcelona comprises 50% of graduates from La Masia, we spot the talent very young as early as age six, train them in ball control and pass technique, then the youngsters must prove themselves over many developmental steps before that leap into the big leagues."

The academy values players that kick up the speed of the game, not by running fast themselves, but finding opportunities through intelligent match moves. "The trick is that the ball must run fast, not the player, as the ball doesn’t get tired," quipped Capellas at the end of his 30 minute and very popular session.

These select individuals not only shared their experiences from over decades in the industry, but equally reveal for the first to the Malaysian audience what really goes on behind the scenes of the industry starting from developing grassroots to million dollar transfers and sponsorship deals that set global brands soaring high.

IFA KL 2009 was the debut for the conference in Kuala Lumpur. Its success has created eager demand for the show to return to Kuala Lumpur especially in close collaboration with its partner the Asian Football Confederation which has its headquarters right here.