The Soccerex Global Convention in Manchester kicks-off today with the two-day Soccerex Football Festival at the City Square, Etihad Stadium.

The free to attend event, open to all members of the public will host an extravaganza of football, entertainment, youth tournament, football legends, prize draws, football freestylers, competitions, activations and much more.

The highlight will be the football legends tournament with four teams – The Tornadoes, The Lions, The Warriors and The Sharks – featuring former stars like Lutz Pfannenstiel, Louis Saha, Fabio Cannavaro, Ulf Kirsten, Dietmar Hamann, Jean-Marie Pfaff, Faustino Asprilla, Jari Litmanen, Jay-Jay Okocha and many more.

The main event – the Soccerex Global Convention – will start on Monday with FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter scheduled to attend the opening ceremony.

The Soccerex Global Convention will also have a panel discussion on Indian football, while various stakeholders of Indian football are expected to attend the event including Kushal Das (General Secretary, All India Football Federation), Sunando Dhar (CEO, I-League), Lalnghinglova Hmar (Secretary, Mizoram Football Associaton), Rajpal Singh (Director, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry), Shirish Kulkarni (President, Liverpool International Football Academy – DSK Shivajians), Ardeshir Jeejeebhoy (CEO, DSK Shivajians Football Club), Nitin Kukreja (President – Sports, Star India), Michael Chopra (Player, Kerala Blasters FC), Sukhvinder Singh (Managing Director, Libero Sports) and myself.