ProEvents' Julian Kam on the Asian football market

China's recently announced intentions of building a national team capable of lifting the World Cup have certainly attracted the attention of the global football market. Invited to speak on the role of emerging football markets, the vastly experienced Julian Kam shared his thoughts on where Asian football is heading.

The world's most populous nation has already announced the creation of football schools and investment in academies, as part of the country's drive to host a World Cup. China made its first major leap into the transfer market in January, bringing names including Jackson Martinez, Ramires, Gervinho and Luiz Adriano, spending a total of around 300,000,000 euros.

Closer to home, Portugal's 2nd division was recently named as Ledman LigaPro, as part of a deal that brings Chinese coaches and players to the European continent to gain experience that will then be applied in Asia.

FIFA vice-president Ángel Maria Villar closes International Congress

FIFA vice-president and former Athl. Bilbao player Ángel Maria Villar was the name chosen to close The Future of Football International Congress this week, with a nostalgic speech covering the last 40 years of football.

“I liked listening to the congress and I have to congratulate Sporting, in the name of its president, for this great initiative. I had the good fortune to be a football player and I trained as a player and a person at every level. Forty years ago fans, players, leagues and international organisations existed. Today, everything is still the same. If we look at the origins of football, it is the same now. Whoever decided how the game should work was not wrong, because today it still exists in a more perfected form," said the Spaniard, adding: "We should not break away from the past, but focus on integration, understanding and improvement. Football is in good hands and the introduction of new technologies should help referees, not replace them. Of course international competitions exist, but we have to respect national competitions, because they are what contributes to the development of football. I thank this Portuguese, European and global club for organising this congress."

MLS representative Lino di Cuollo on the role of developing markets

Speaking as part of day two of the Future of Football International Congress, Major League Soccer representative Lino di Cuollo shared his valuable knowledge on the growth of the beautiful game in the world's emerging markets. For the MLS, the secret has been in a three-phase plan, based on growth, independence and making the league more attractive to a global audience.

The league was brought into being back in 1996, with just ten teams. The creation of the North American competition actually went back to 1993, as part of a project to get the country ready for the 1994 World Cup. The MLS has steadily grown ever since, with unique ideas including the centralisation of players' contracts controlled by the league to ensure stability and balance between teams.

"In the MLS, we made it so that the competition is on the pitch. Off it, we work together", said the MLS representative, in a presentation that explained the league's growth into a league that could attract foreign talent, but with strict financial rules ensuring that budgets were kept under control.

Steve Rickless shares his experience with Triple Play as part of a drive to generate revenue

Football stadiums are, by definition, the place where you go to watch a football match. What if stadiums could become much more than that, acting as a way of generating even more revenue? That is one of the Triple Play CEO Steve Rickless' idea, with his company paving the way in integrating digital services into facilities. With offices around the world, Triple Play has already worked in more than 30 stadiums (including Chelsea, Manchester City and Spartak Moscow), in seven different sports.

“We should use the stadium's systems to ge the fans involved. Giant screens for example can be fitted with internet connections to work as television platforms for generating additional revenue. For Steve Rickless, the NFL is an example to follow, with ticket prices also varying based on the services available to each particular fan. “We can have music, games, competitions, special offers, location services and partnerships with restaurants and bars who pay to be part of the club's App", affirmed the Triple Play CEO, finishing by encouraging a discussion on how to generate revenue not only on matchday, but on the other 300 days of the year.

Roger Navarro on the role of social networks in the modern game

With just a click of a single button, the Future of Football International Congress moved into its final session. Who better than Roger Navarro, a man used to managing a Barcelona fan base of more than 300,000,000. Social networks are the theme of the day, acting as an instantaneous way for clubs to keep in touch with their fans.

"We have more than 300,000,000 followers all over the work and of course we cannot be with all of them all of the time. If in Spain each fan has their own specific likes, imagine interacting with fans from other cultures. It needs different strategies, but what you get out of it is also different. The most important thing is to be aware of where people live in the world. We have created databases which allow us to give value to every single fan. We try and communicate as directly as possible, because we know that is the best way to get the best out of our relationship. We have to try and communicate in as many languages as possible and of course agreements with third parties help us", said Barcelona's digital platforms director at the congress.

Gijs de Jong on Innovation in Football and the benefits of video referees

The use of new technologies is fast becoming a reality for the Dutch Football Federation, with the Netherlands having already trialed the use of video referees in a match between Feyenoord and Heerenveen. The Federation's Director of Operations, Gijs de Jong, was one of the guests at the Future of Football International Congress this week, of course to speak about Innovation in Football.

“It is good for the sport on the whole to hold a congress like this, where we can speak about the introduction of tecnologies. Referees speak about it as well and they look at it is as positive things. New technologies, like video referees, are good for the sport. When we started taking about it in the Dutch Federation, the discussion was not about if we should use it, but how we should use it", opened de Jong.

During his presentation, Gijs de Jong focused in on a wealth of data from a series of situations which can occur in a single match. In the 45 matches analysed, a total of 51 situations which influenced the result were verified, with a total of 12 bad decisions taken which could have been corrected with the help of a video referee. On average, just 11 seconds would be needed for the correct decision to be implemented. “The video referee doesn't give you 100% certainty, but it does give 95% to 97%."

Bruno de Carvalho on Football as a Science and Conscience

"I am here as a father, not as the president of Sporting Clube de Portugal.” That is how Bruno de Carvalho opened a powerful speech at the Future of Football International Congress this Tuesday, stepping in for Professor Manuel Sérgio at the last minute.

“Football is not just a world of emotions and reactions. We are going through a real crisis of values. Bringing together the science of football with a conscience of what football should be in terms of humanity is not easy", affirmed the Alvalade boss, going on to add a personal touch to his intervention: "My opinion is no secret. We need new paradigms and to change things for the better. How we look at life and how we should behave in sport is what will dictate our role as part of the thousands of people who are involved and the sport and the handful who actually make a difference."

Susana Cova on the Development of Female Football in Portugal

Susana Cova was invited to speak as part of the Future of Football International Congress this Wednesday. Affirming that the SuperCup Women was an excellent way to bring visibility and credibly to female sport, but cautioned that there is still a lot of work to be done, including in Portugal.

“As well as the SuperCup Women back in August, the National 9-a-side Junior Football Champion also started this year. There is a day for female football, on the same day as the final of the Portuguese Cup, and training centres that bring together female players for six-month spells", opened Susana Cova, going on to reveal what can be expected in 2016/2017: "There will be a female league called Liga Feminina Allianz, an under-19 National Cup and a series of seminars."

Despite the good intentions, female participation in football in Portugal is still relatively low, explaining the country's 40th place in the FIFA rankings and 23rd in the European rankings.

“Our under-16 players are making their debut in international competitions. They are fighting hard to do the country proud", finished Susana Cova.

ISCTE professor Pedro Dionísio on tribalism in football

University Professor Pedro Dionísio was another big name speaking at the Future of Football International Congress this Tuesday. Another specialist focusing on the important role of fans, Dionísio looked at some of the psychology behind the beautiful game.

“Football fans are the new tribes. They look to create links between people, moving away from individualism and into a kind of neo-tribalism. Tribes build up really strong emotional links. How many times do you come across fans of your club in other cities, members of the same tribe?", opened the professor, going on to add a word on the commercial aspect of fans' support: "Commercial brands like Coca-Cola or Super Bock love this kind of affection and emotion. Football fans have their rivals, their places in common and their collective image. Tribal consumers look more at the emotional links between them, rather than loyalty cards and that sort of thing. Not only material things motivate fans, but their emotions above anything else."

José Curado affirms the quality of Portuguese coaches

José Curado shared a touch of his vast experience on about the training of coaches as part of the Future of Football International Congress in this Tuesday's session.

“If there a future for football without quality coaches? Would it be possible to have such a quality sport with poor quality coaches? Can we have good doctors with bad training? I don't think so", opened Curado in his presentation, focusing in on the role of coaching in Portugal.

Reflecting on the success of Portuguese coaches, Curado sees his colleagues as worthy of a case study: "Portuguese coaches are always in the headlines, also because there are a lot of them, but also because everyone recognises their quality. We have a lot of Portuguese coaches in a lot of sports abroad, despite how fragile our training process is. Look at the NBA project in India, taking the sport to the world's most populous country. The project is led by a group of Portuguese coaches, under the coordination of Carlos Barroca. Mário Palma, for example, got Angola into the Olympic Games three times. The first woman invited to train a professional team was Portuguese, Helena Costa."