Soccerex is delighted to announce Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) will be hosting a special workshop titled ‘Sport and Foreign Affairs: The Softpower of Nations and the Megaevents’ at the Soccerex Global Convention, Rio de Janeiro, 24-28, November. The workshop will feature a range of influential speakers including Ministra Vera Cintia Alvarez , Head of the General Coordination of Exchanges of Sport Cooperation, Stavros P. Xanthopoylos, Executive Director of FGV Online, Ricardo Trade, Executive Director of Operations of the Brazil 2014 LOC and Luís Antônio Paulino National Secretary of Football.

FGV Online, the Distance Learning division of the Getulio Vargas Foundation, fuses state of the art technology with the FGV knowledge tradition and its renowned quality standards. It develops and delivers continuing education projects incorporating e-learning solutions, videoconferencing, satellite TV and webcasting an blended solutions – all designed to meet the expectation and needs of professionals and corporate clients.

The session will look at the successes and failures of previous ‘megaevents’ such as Olympic Games in Barcelona, Atlanta, Athens and the upcoming London 2012 Olympic Games. In particular the ‘megaevent’ legacies, or lack of, such as urban transformation, economic strategy and overall national delivery strategy. The main focus of the session will be to look at the ‘Softpower’ of host nations with a spotlight on Brazil and the transfer of their success in football into success in governmental international relations.

Commenting on the FGV Online workshop, Soccerex Sponsorship and Commercial Partnerships Director, Paul Brighten said “It is great to see an institution with such an excellent reputation as FGV Online taking a leading role in the Soccerex Global Convention. They have brought together a good group of speakers and this should be an extremely educational and relevant session.”

The Conference kicks off on Monday 26th November where Brazilian Minister of Sport, Aldo Rebelo will be among the dignitaries in the opening ceremony. A packed international exhibition and a programme of networking and social events complete the schedule for what is widely acknowledged as the world’s leading football business event.

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About Soccerex

Established in 1995, Soccerex is the leading provider of business events for the global football community. Bringing together key industry decision makers from the world of football, Soccerex provides a unique commercial environment where delegates can benefit from exclusive business opportunities, networking and bespoke educational content.

Since its launch 17 years ago, Soccerex has hosted over 27 events across five continents. The Soccerex portfolio includes an annual Global Convention complimented by regionalised Forums.

About the Global Convention

The Soccerex Global Convention is the World’s largest football business event, seeing the global leaders in the business of football come together to debate, network and do business. Lasting 5 days, including a 2 day Football Festival on Copacabana Beach, it is held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 24-28 November 2012. The event is held in conjunction with the Government of Rio de Janeiro.

For full information about Soccerex and future Soccerex events please visit http://www.soccerex.com // call +44 (0)20 8742 7100 // email enquiry@soccerex.com