The First Asia Edition of World Football Summit (WFS) lands in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia to inspire and empower the Asian football industry On 29th and 30th April, the first edition of World Football Summit Asia (WFS Asia) will connect close to 2,000 professionals from the sports and football industry to discuss the most relevant industry topics and generate business opportunities in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The two-day summit will witness Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre gathering international attendees from more than 50 different countries. It is expected to host more than 22 exhibitors where 70% of them will be executives and accompanied by more than 70 football clubs, turning the summit into a congregation of who-is-who of the Asian and international football industry. Speaking at the pre-summit press conference, Mohan Rajaratnam, CEO of World Football Summit Asia shared: “Football is the most globalized sport in the world, transcending boundaries and overcoming differences in culture and backgrounds, uniting people through a shared passion. Starting with Malaysia, the summit aims to increase the level of awareness and share industry knowledge to improve and enhance various aspects of the game in Asia as a credible industry platform. The game is truly loved by all in the region and there is much potential to unearth and develop to elevate the overall standards of the Asian football landscape.” The components of the summit will include both a main stage and industry talks which companies and clubs will share, discuss and present their ideas, industry trends to audiences, an expo area where companies will exhibit and showcase their latest products and services, a networking area in which certain platforms will be offered for attendees to meet and generate opportunities and the StartCup, a competition in which a selection of 7 startups will pitch their business idea to entrepreneurs, investors, companies and media. LaLiga, the Global Partner of WFS shared: “Since its inception, we have supported WFS in its initiative to organize an international edition, and it was clear that Asia was the right place to start as majority of the world’s population is situated here. Kuala Lumpur is a great choice due to its strategic location, existing large fan base, exceptional football culture, and its growing economy with rising purchasing power. We are extremely confident that first edition of the summit outside of Europe will be a huge success contributing to the development of football in the Asian region,” – Ivan Codina, Managing Director of SEA, Australia, Japan & South Korea, LaLiga. The summit boasts a first-class line-up of speakers such as Oscar Mayo, Director of International Development of LaLiga, H.R.H. Tunku Ismail, Chairman of the MFL; Dato’ Windsor John, General Secretary of the AFC; Luis Vicente, Chief Digital Transformation & Innovation Officer at FIFA, Pere Guardiola, Founder & CEO at Media Base Sports. More than 60 speakers will discuss topics related to the importance of the Asian football industry, the emergence of eSports, fan engagement, the landscape of audiovisual rights, women’s football, antiprivacy efforts, technology innovation in the game, and many others. Top clubs and leagues such as FC Barcelona, Juventus, Arsenal, Manchester United, Paris Saint Germain, Borussia Dortmund, LaLiga, Bundesliga, and the Premier League will participate among top business brands such as Rakuten, DAZN, AON, Twitter and Lagardère at the summit. Additionally, we have more exciting highlights of the summit. This includes the first ever eSports-Football Championship (EFC), taking place just before the summit. Endorsed by EA Sports, we will have 32 esports athletes from 15 different countries in Asia competing in the tournament. Moreover, a grassroots-level initiative called Project Kick-Off will be launched based on a partnership between World Football Summit (Asia) and Habitat for Humanity, an international NGO. As part of the partnership, various football clubs and players will be lending their time and expertise to impart important life skills to children and empower them to develop sustainable living in underserved communities. Additionally, the summit will be hosting friendly matches between football legends from La Liga and ASEANS. These legends will include the likes of Fernando Morientes, Luque, Christian Karembeu, Gaizka Mendieta, Zainal Abidin Hassan, Fandi Ahmad, Le Cong Vinh, Bambang Pamungkas and many others. Tickets to the WFSA are currently available for online purchase. For registration and event details, please visit https://asia.worldfootballsummit.com. For any registration inquiries, please contact kaveesh@worldfootballsummit.com. Image can be downloaded here below: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/scn3ft0d29dvzcm/AAAHDg4AdzFnFCkIgqmM_GHna?dl=0 FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Name: Hilman Shukor PR Executive, essence Burson-Marsteller Tel: + 013-223 1332 Email: hilman@my-essence.com Source: Essence Communications Sdn Bhd Image Attachments Links: Link: https://iop.asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=333906 Caption: Panel discussing the impact and value of the World Football Summit Asia towards the Asian and Malaysian football landscape. From left: Roshan Narayan, Moderator; Ivan Codina, Managing Director of SEA, Australia, Japan and S. Korea of LaLiga; Mohan Rajaratnam, CEO of World Football Summit Asia; Jan Alessie, Director of World Football Summit; Stuart Ramalingam, General Secretary of Football Association of Malaysia