Zambia FA President confirmed for Soccerex African Forum
October 10, 2012
Soccerex is delighted to announce that President of the Zambian Football Association and African football legend Kalusha Bwalya will be speaking at the Soccerex African Forum, 23-24 October, Durban.
Bwalya is Zambia’s most capped player and is regarded as one of the greatest Zambian players ever. He earned over 100 international caps and spent 6 years at PSV Eindhoven where he won the Eredivisie twice. In a long list of honours, he was named African Footballer of the Year in 1988, became the first player to be nominated FIFA World Player of the Year whilst not playing for a European club and named Zambia’s sports man of the century.
He has a long and poignant connection with African football. When playing in Europe for PSV Eindhoven, he famously wasn’t on board the plane which fatally crashed and caused the death of 18 of the Zambian national team, on their way to a qualification match for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Years later in what was an emotional match, ‘The Copper Bullets’ were able to pay the ultimate tribute to their fallen heroes by winning the 2012 African Cup of Nations in Gabon, only a few hundred meters inland from where the plane had crashed. In what was a special moment for Zambian football, Bwalya joined the players to lift the trophy and unveiled a banner in memory of the players who had lost their lives.
Commenting on his involvement, Soccerex CEO Duncan Revie said:
“We are honoured that Kalusha will be speaking at the Soccerex African Forum. He is a true icon of African football and from his experience as a player and now president of the Zambian FA he will be able to provide an expert analysis on the current state of African football.”
The first Soccerex African Forum will feature a detailed conference featuring some of the biggest names in football, with a packed exhibition and a programme of networking events which will build on the business legacy of Soccerex’s three year stay in South Africa (2007-2009) for the Global Convention and help develop the legacy of 2010 FIFA World CupTM across Africa.
For further information about this event please call +44 (0)20 987 5522 or visit http://www.soccerex.com/events/africa/
