SportAccord Plenary Conference had fruitful talks about the soft power of sport

An engaging Plenary Conference Programme discussion about the soft power of sport produced hard evidence of tangible benefits from the delivery of major events at the International Convention Centre last week, as the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit 2024 drew to a close.

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Neil Rami, Chief Executive of the West Midlands Growth Company, told the Diplomacy in Action session that the need to strengthen international relations was a key factor in the decision to bring the Commonwealth Games to Birmingham two years ago.

World Netball President Dame Liz Nicholl listed some of the benefits that emerged in South Africa and neighbouring nations as a result of the Netball World Cup 2023 in Cape Town.

Meanwhile, Jason Williams, CEO of the Sports Company of Trinidad and Tobago, said sport is bringing communities together in his nation and has raised awareness of the importance of legacy.

Rami said: “The UK was on its way out of the EU and the opportunity to build trade, investment and development relations was paramount. We were successful in securing extra resources for a business and tourism programme.

Last year we attracted more investment than ever from India and that was largely down to the impact of the Games.”

Nicholl said that host broadcaster SuperSport inspired audiences at the Netball World Cup by sending an all-women production crew. In addition, the South African government provided sprung wood floors for three neighbouring nations and President Cyril Ramaphosa made a commitment at the closing ceremony to build a netball training centre in Johannesburg.

Rami said: “We need to stop talking about return on investment and start talking about influence.”

Partners

The SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit 2024 is supported by a number of strong partners and suppliers:

Gold Partner: Sport Event Denmark

Silver Partners: EventScotland, Explore Edmonton, Tourism & Events Queensland

Bronze Partner: Sport Liverpool , Sports Authority Thailand

Official Suppliers: DB Schenker, Wiz-Team

About SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit 

The SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit brings together around 1,500 leaders and key decision makers from over 120 International Federations (IFs), the International Olympic Committee, and organisations involved in the business of sport. 

The Summit provides an unrivalled platform enabling global business leaders and host cities to have access to all the International Federations and their stakeholders in one location over several days. 

This unique event is a combination of official sports meetings, networking gatherings, a themed conference programme, and exhibition space enabling International Federations, industry, cities and regions to showcase and advance their sport, services and facilities. 

About SPORTACCORD

SportAccord is a sports event organisation based in the Olympic Capital, Lausanne, Switzerland, and governed by stakeholders representing the Olympic and non-Olympic International Federations.  

It brings together International Federations and organisations involved in the business of sport with the aim to serve, promote and protect the common interests of its stakeholders, help them achieve their global objectives and facilitate knowledge-sharing.

SportAccord’s stakeholders include:

ASOIF (Association of Summer Olympic International Federations)

WOF (Winter Olympic Federations)

ARISF (Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations)

AIMS (Alliance of Independent Recognised Members of Sport)

Visit SportAccord.sport for more information.

About Yutang Sports

As one of SportAccord's Principal Media Partners, Yutang Sports is a Chinese leading sports marketing and media platform, with an ultimate mission to connect China and world through sports. After years of growing, Yutang Sports, with a comprehensive media and marketing promotion system, is now dedicating to reporting sports business and marketing trends, providing sports business news, analysis, and exclusive data reports in both Chinese and English. Having been cooperated with top-level domestic and international sports summits, Yutang Sports is opening a window for Chinese sports industry to embrace the world.