The brand new Wembley stadium proved to be a big attraction for the football industry's finest last May, attracting 1,000 high-level players from Clubs, Federations, Leagues, Sponsors, Agencies and Service Providers.

The then-UK Minister of Sport, Richard Caborn, opened the event in the Great Hall, placing the importance of football firmly in UK sport perspective: he told the audience that while sport generated over

The first panel to kick off the days proceeding was 'Next generation football stadiums - lessons learned and future expectations' with panellists Alex Horne, the managing director of Wembley National Stadium, Lou Imbriano, president and CEO of TrinityOne Worldwide in the US; U Balasubraniam, CEO, Dubai Sports City and Danny Jordan, CEO FIFA World Cup 2010 LOC, the session being moderated by Peter Van Gend, President major events, Siemens.

While the debate initially focused upon the management of the new Wembley stadium's construction, all the panel members were agreed that the stadia industry was changing: "These days, ticketing isn't even enough to pay for a new stadium's cleaning costs," said Balasubraniam starkly, "so everyone needs to look at as many other revenue streams as possible. The panel concluded that running modern stadiums requires real foresight, 24/7 pro-active marketing, and not least, passion about the sport you happen to be involved in.

A break in the conference programme provided an opportunity for delegates to network until the second panel, which examined the relationship between football and betting. Sir Brian Mawhinney, chairman of the Football League, Dan Vikman, PR & Communication Director, Expekt.com, Ian Penrose, CEO, Sportech PLC (Littlewoods Pools), and Dr Rogan Taylor, of Liverpool University all agreed that, with 60% of betting revenue being derived from football, there is going to be an inevitable knock-on effect on the beautiful game. The panel agreed that this was likely to become evident as the integrity of everyone, not least players and officials, would increasingly have to come under scrutiny.

McDonald's and JJB, two major football sponsors, came together with FC Barcelona and FIFA to discuss the latest relationships in sponsorship in 'From sponsorship to partnership: how the landscape is changing'. Esteve Calzada, (chief marketing officer, FC Barcelona) outlined to and Eelco van der Noll (director of marketing, FIFA), Johan Jervoe, (corporate vice president, global marketing McDonald's) and Tom Knight (chairman, JJB) why FC Barcelona chose to display the Unicef charity's logo on its shirts instead of a big commercial brand. 'It's about our commitment to being close to our supporters, our people, and playing great football,' he explained. 'It's the intangible that is the attractive thing for us', outlining also how CSR is becoming truly valued within the football industry.

A one-on-one interview with the CEO of the Premier League, Richard Scudamore closed the day's proceedings. Addressing the then-current furore surrounding the Carlos Tevez deal at West Ham United and Sheffield Utd's legal action, Scudamore also outlined what he considered to be theissues facing football in the long-term. 'The attendance challenge is a real one' he said, ' as is the protection of clubs and organisations intellectual properties in this increasingly web-driven age.'

Having spent the day's networking breaks hard at work, delegates enjoyed informally socialising amid the new Wembley Stadium hospitality, with a Drinks Reception ahead of the Soccerex Celebrity Sports & Showbiz Dinner. The evening's entertainment saw Jack Charlton present Sir Tom Finney with a Lifetime Acheivement Award for his services to football, alongside a live screening of Chelsea vs Man Utd.