Football elite head to Manchester

Manchester is set to welcome representatives from all 20 Premier League football clubs to the city next month as Manchester plays host to the Soccerex European Forum - the football industry's annual business exchange event.

The forum, which takes place at Manchester Central on 2-3 March, will also see European heavyweights such as AC Milan, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid among the 80 or so European football clubs heading to the city.

Inter Milan managing director, Ernesto Paolillo and Arsenal chief executive, Ivan Gazidis, are among the confirmed speakers at the event - which coincides with the city's hosting of another prestigious sports gathering - the European Clubs Association general delegate meeting at the Radisson Edwardian Hotel. That event alone is set to attract another 140 senior figures from football clubs across Europe.

Andrew Stokes, chief executive of Marketing Manchester, the agency charged with promoting the city on a national and international stage, said: "Manchester's reputation as a city that's passionate about sport is a unique selling point that cannot be underestimated when bidding for events of Soccerex's calibre.

"For many years it has helped us to attract actual sports events to the city, but now that reputation's draw extends beyond the playing field and into the convention centre. Delegates attending the Soccerex European Forum are an incredibly influential group of people from the footballing world and this event is a great opportunity for Manchester to show them what it has to offer."

Peter Mearns, executive director of marketing and communications at the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), added: "Manchester is the perfect host city for Soccerex; not only is it a centre of footballing excellence but it is also a world-class conference destination. This prestigious convention will provide a significant economic boost for the region and will also project Manchester onto an international stage." 

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