Dubai: The tenth edition of Soccerex will take off at the Mall of the Emirates with a soft opening this morning with the Soccerex Football Festival presented by Mashreqbank.
The opening ceremony of this high-profile event will be held at 10.45am with a five-a-side tournament featuring Manchester United, Liverpool and an All-Asia team.
The Soccerex will be formally opened by Fifa President Sepp Blatter in the presence of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Executive Council and Dubai Sports Council, at the Madinat Jumeirah at 9.30am tomorrow.
"We are all set to launch the tenth anniversary of Soccerex," Rashid Kamali, the Middle East representative for Soccerex told Gulf News.
"The emphasis will be on the juniors with former great Bryan Robson passing on vital hints to aspiring footballers in the UAE," Kamali said.
The opening of the soccer tournament will be followed by a tournament involving the top teams in attendance. Team Asia will face Manchester United in the opening match starting at 1.10pm. The final at 3.30pm will be followed by the trophies presentation.
One of the highlights of the day will be the presence of the legendary Egyptian duo of Ebrahim and Hussam Hassan. "The various delegations have already started arriving with the Egyptian Ministry of Sports among the first to arrive," Kamali stated.
The Soccerex official is also pleased with the huge presence of teams and contingents from the African continent.
"In a way it makes sense to have so many African nations taking part here with us as the entire footballing world is looking at Africa due to the Fifa 2010 World Cup in South Africa," Kamali said.
