The event has grown in stature in that time and now hosts 1800 Director level delegates from over 45 countries and 40 sports attending, 52 per cent of which come from outside the UK. With 5 conferences covering Football, Performance, Sponsorship, Digital Sport and Racing, all running simultaneously in 2012, the programme hosted 100 speakers from all over the world.

James Worrall, CEO, Leaders says “After an extensive consultation period with all delegates, we are delighted to confirm a 3 day programme for the Leaders Sports Summit from 8-10 October in 2013. It will enable us to incorporate even more content into the programme and thereby provide additional value for delegates whilst also ensuring people have the time to attend what is important to them. We have also identified a number of exciting changes to keep Leaders fresh, relevant and of value to our clients which is what we strive to achieve each year.”

Leaders in Football, Leaders in Sponsorship, Leaders in Performance & Leaders in Digital Sport will run concurrently over the 9th & 10th October and Leaders in Racing will be held on the 8th October alongside a series of specific symposiums, workshops and networking opportunities, making Leaders the must attend international sporting event in the calendar.

If you would like to learn more about Leaders or to enquire about opportunities to get involved in 2013, please contact one of the team on +44 (0) 207 042 8666 or email enquiry@leadersinevents.com.

They were followed on stage by an elite group of betting industry leaders from across the world, including the Chairman of PMU in France, COO of Tabcorp in Australia, President of XBNet in the US and COO of SIS in the UK. This group was hand-picked to shed light on the evolving trends of internationalisation in racing and betting, covering important topics such as co-mingling, one hub vs multiple hubs and regulation. The international theme was continued by a group of top owners, breeders and coordinators including Alan Spence, Adrian Beaumont, Simon Crisford and Nick Smith, who addressed the global challenges and opportunities experienced by international racing operations.

Following this, and reflecting horseracing’s ongoing initiatives to better compete in the busy global sports market, one of the conference highlights was a unique session examining how the industry can promote its events and attract new partners and viewers. The organisers selected one of the world’s best-known and successful boxing promoters, Frank Warren, to share his thoughts alongside Channel 4 and the British Champions Series. The next major talking point was money and funding, with Jockey Club Chief Exec Simon Bazalgette, Betfair’s Chief Legal Officer Martin Cruddace, the President of the Racehorse Owners Association, Rachel Hood, and Dirk Vennix, CEO of the Association of British Bookmakers, all focusing on how racing and betting are evolving in uncertain economic times and how that will affect the future of the sport.

The final session was a fascinating one-on-one with one of the world’s top jockeys, Kieren Fallon, who talked about his life in racing, the changes over the years and his outlook for the sport.

The attendance of the conference was strictly limited to 250 with over 20 different countries, 19 Jockey Clubs and 30 different associations present. The feedback from the event has been overwhelmingly positive with over 78% declaring it the best forum for discussing the present and future of the racing industry.

The planning is already in place for 2013 with an expanded programme of high level and workshop sessions due to be announced in the coming months. For more information see www.leadersinracing.com.

They were followed by an exclusive keynote speech by Barney Francis, Managing Director of Sky Sports and one of the industry’s most influential figures who covered Sky’s positive role in sports and digital innovation. The discussion on sport and technology continued with top executives from Premier League Champions Manchester City, Sky Deutschland and leading US broadcaster, Fox.

The debate then changed direction to how sports properties can better use digital platforms to engage with fans, as top marketers from the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, the MLS and Sports Interactive covering topics from loyalty schemes, to social media and location based services. It was the benchmark for what sport can do with digital platforms.

Along with fan engagement, the other big talking point was how to monetise digital and the audience had access to original thinkers from two of the world’s biggest brands, FC Barcelona and Orange, and the world’s most popular social networking site, facebook. They shared ideas on digital and social sponsorship activation, drawing on Orange’s sponsorship of the EURO2012 football tournament, FC Barcelona’s industry leading online initiatives and facebook’s cutting-edge work with Olympic sponsors during the 2012 London Games.

Capping off the ground breaking agenda were a series of talks from top digital executives from other industries including speakers from McLaren Automotive and Disney, as well as Universal Music who told the story of the industry’s decline and revival in the digital era in a fantastic compare and contrast with the sports industry.

The attendance of the conference was strictly limited to 300 with 41% working at rights holders, 50% attending from outside the UK, over 60 brands represented and a buyer seller ratio of 60:40. The feedback from the event has been overwhelmingly positive with over 83% declaring it the best forum for digital debate and networking in the world of sport.

The planning is already in place for 2013 with an expanded programme of high level and workshop sessions due to be announced in the coming months. For more information click here.

Building on the strength of the morning sessions, the organisers had selected best-in-class examples of activations in 2012 and attendees enjoyed a senior-level Olympic sponsorships review with P&G, Lloyds TSB and GE, back in London just 2 months after the Games, and panels on creative and digital/social activation with speakers from FC Barcelona, AB InBev, DHL, Orange and SAB Miller.

Rounding off an inspirational and provocative 2 days were a series of unique talks and interviews from Universal Music, facebook and the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team. Olivier Robert-Murphy, Universal’s global head of new business told the story of the music industry’s decline and revival in the digital era, Facebook director Christian Hernandez wowed the audience with an up-to-the-minute review of how brands can use the social media platform to engage with consumers and Nick Fry, CEO of the Mercedes F1 team, described how inventory is developed around F1 to create experiences for brands to engage with fans.

The attendance of the conference was strictly limited to 300 with 34% of the audience working directly for brands, 42% working at rights holders and 24% working for both with 44% attending from outside the UK. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive with over 76% declaring it the best forum for sponsorship debate and networking in the world of sport.

The planning is already in place for 2013 with an expanded programme of high level and workshop sessions due to be announced in the coming months. For more information see www.leadersinsponsorship.com.

Ronaldo led a FIFA and Brazil 2014 LOC delegation and, alongside FIFA’s marketing chief Thierry Weil, provided a timely insight into developments on the road to Brazil. They were shortly followed by the man at the head of the current holders of the trophy, Spanish Federation President Angel Villar Llona, who discussed what it takes to win the tournament, in an exclusive 1-on-1 interview.

The international theme continued with unique panels on Football in Asia, featuring FIFA Vice President and Crown Prince of Jordan, HRH Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein, Football in Asia with an expert panel including Ronald de Boer, as well as an exclusive keynote interview with Andrea Agnelli of Juventus FC, the latest member of the Agnelli family to lead the Old Lady of Italian football. The European theme continued with a panel of top executives from AC Milan, Paris St Germain, Liverpool and Arsenal.

Of great interest to the various football club, league and federation CEO’s in the audience were the ideas that the American speakers brought with them. The second day started with an NFL panel highlighting the international expansion strategy of America’s favourite sport, with the league’s top marketer, Mark Waller, and Shahid Khan, the new owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars taking the stage. Major League Soccer also came in force, led by Commissioner Don Garber, and the owners of the Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers and Sporting Kansas City, to shed light on the commercial strategy and model behind the league that is beginning to make major in-roads into perhaps the world’s toughest sports market.

Both days of the prestigious conference were closed with matters arising on the field with current players Michael Owen and David James, coaches Roberto Martinez and Paolo Di Canio, and the world’s most recognised referee, Pierluigi Collina, giving a fascinating insight into their views on the game of football.

The invite only sell-out international event saw over 1500 delegates and 100 speakers from over 45 countries, representing 50 different sports in attendance. 60% of the delegates were rights holders, 89% were Director-Level and 95 different sponsors in sport enjoyed the top quality content and networking. In fact 92% stated they were “extremely satisfied” with the quality of attendees.

Perhaps most pleasing of all was the fact that 48% of all attendees were from overseas, with significant director level delegations from Brazil working on the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Qatar 2022, Singapore Sports Council, Scandinavia, numerous Australian rights holders, and a major group representing the biggest sport franchises in the US, the events second biggest market.

Millions of people more from around the world followed the news stories as they happened live with 12 international TV networks covering the event (including BBC, Sky Sports News, ITV, Bloomberg, ESPN, MBC, CNN, CNBC, NHK ) and 150 international journalists in attendance. Recognising the growing importance of social media, the organisers had 15 people covering all 40 sessions and debates at the summit with the official hash-tag #Leaders2012 proving to be a huge success.

James Worrall, CEO, The Leaders Sport Summit said “The 5th Leaders Sports summit reached new heights on every level with the quality of delegates, relevance of content and media coverage it generated making it the premium event in the sports business calendar. I am so grateful to all the speakers, sponsors, exhibitors and delegates for travelling to London from all over the world and for all the supportive messages we have received in the days following the summit. Whilst we are delighted with the outcome for 2012 we are already working on the 2013 edition to ensure we continue to improve and deliver a first class experience for all concerned”

More Facts about the event:
Leaders in Football hosted more than 30 speakers over 12 sessions, with 92% of delegates “delighted” with the content and learning. Panels made up of players, referees, MLS owners, Brazil 2014, FIFA ExCo members and CEO’s from the biggest clubs in Europe, as well as interviews with Juventus president and owner, Andrea Agnelli, President of the Spanish Football Federation, Angel Maria Villar Llona and a panel with Qatar 2022 were spread throughout the two days.

Leaders in Performance hosted 21 world class speakers over 10 sessions with 90% of delegates “delighted” with the content and learning. Sessions concerning subjects such as talent identification, athlete development, sports science, technology, analysis, psychology and physiology, as well as what sport can learn from the business world, took place across the two days. The conference’s highlights included in depth interviews with Head Coach of the South African World Cricket Champions, Gary Kirsten, England Rugby National Team Coach, Stuart Lancaster and a fascinating panel on Innovation in Sport from NASA, UK Sport and McLaren F1.

Leaders in Sponsorship hosted 18 world class speakers over 7 sessions with 89% of delegates “delighted” with the content and learning. A world class roster of speakers were present for the Sponsorship conference on Wednesday and Thursday including speakers from the NFL, P&G, Hublot, FC Barcelona, ABInBev, Orange, SAB Miller, Investec, DHL, Western Union, Jacksonville Jaguars and GE. They spoke on a range of issues such as the latest trends in sponsorship from the US sports market, where global brands are spending their money, Olympic sponsorship, creating rights, the future of brands and how to harness the fans to activate sponsorships globally.

Leaders in Digital Sport hosted 20 world class speakers over 8 sessions with 94% of delegates delighted with the content and learning. A stellar line up of speakers were present for Wednesday’s and Thursday’s event, with the crowd addressed by prestigious representatives from companies such as Facebook, Sky Sports, Fox Sports, YouTube, NBC, BBC, Terra, Maple Leaf Sport and Entertainment, Pittsburgh Penguins, MLS, Universal Music, Manchester City and more. Sessions concentrated on the major topics within the industry, including; Digital lessons outside sport, how fans will consume sport in the future, the digitalisation of the Olympics, Digital fan engagement, building new digital platforms and finally a session on how the music industry has coped with content rights issues.

Leaders in Racing hosted 17 world class speakers over 6 sessions with 91% of delegates delighted with the content and learning. Leading representatives from some of the racing and betting world’s most prestigious brands and rights holders gathered to speak at Thursday’s event, with sessions focusing on the business of racing, promotion of the sport, international racing and betting and the finance of racing.

For the 3rd year running Levy Restaurants provided world-class food and drink at the event with a superb menu created by a team of leading chefs and in house hospitality experts. Levy restaurants operate globally at prestigious venues including Chelsea FC, Cardiff City Stadium, The O2 Arena and the Dodger Stadium in LA and created a similar first class experience for delegates. Similarly SIS, the experts in host and outside broadcast production and facilities, returned as a Main Partner of the summit covering every conference session and beaming relevant footage all over the world.

if you would like to learn more about Leaders events or to enquire about opportunities to get involved in 2013, please contact one of the team on +44 (0) 207 042 8666 or email enquiry@leadersinevents.com.

With a confirmed attendance of 50% delegates from overseas, it truly will be an international experience, and Leaders would like to ensure that industry professionals unable to attend the conference this year can still interact with the world-class audience and content via Twitter.

To keep up to date on the latest conference news, submit questions or to join the conversation, please follow the conference specific Twitter accounts below, or follow the general hash-tag that has been set up in order to follow the events in real time, wherever you are.

Conference specific accounts:
Leaders in Football – @LiFootball
Leaders in Performance – @LiPerformance
Leaders in Sponsorship – @LiSponsorship
Leaders in Digital Sport – @LiDigitalSport
Leaders in Racing – @LiHorseRacing

General account:
Leaders Sport Summit General Twitter account – @Leaders_Summit

Official hash tag:
Leaders Sport Summit 2012 – #Leaders2012

The final confirmed list of speakers is a who’s who of the world of racing with some of the most important figures ready to debate the big issues the industry faces. Apart from Nick, Adrian and Alan, these include Philippe Germond, Chairman and CEO, PMU; Simon Bazalgette, Group Chief Executive, The Jockey Club; Paul Bittar, Chief Executive, British Horse Racing Authority; Brendan Parnell, Chief Operating Officer, Tabcorp; Simon Crisford, Racing Manager, Godolphin; Ron Luniewski, President, XB Net; Brian Kavanagh, Chief Executive, Horseracing Ireland; Frankie Dettori, Champion Jockey; Frank Warren, Boxing Promoter, Box Nation; Gary Smith, Chief Operating Officer, SIS; Rachel Hood, President, Racehorse Owners’ Association; Martin Cruddace, Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer, Betfair and Rod Street, Chief Executive Officer, British Champions Series.

Leaders in Racing is an invite-only event launched in 2011 with a sell-out attendance of 250 director-level executives from over 25 countries, including representatives from 18 Jockey clubs, 33 associations and 40 betting operators. It is held as part of the world famous Leaders Sport Summit, which attracts the top 1,500 executives from world sport for 2 days of learning and networking.

Leaders in Racing has been designed by the industry for the industry and is supported by The UK Jockey Club, GBI Racing and SIS. The conference is now completely sold out to apply for the waiting list to attend, please e-mail racing@leadersinevents.com or contact one of the team on +44 (0) 207 042 8666.

A dedicated website www.leadersinracing.com provides more information on who is attending.

Agnelli will deliver an exclusive keynote one to one interview with Christian Purslow, former Managing Director, Liverpool FC on the challenges of life at the top in football where the margins of error are so fine and the expectations so high. Roberto Martinez and Pierluigi Collina will join Michael Owen to deliver a fascinating insight into life on the field and the pressures off it, Nick Fry will explore creative activation in sponsorship by drawing on his vast experience in motor sport whilst Bhavesh Patel will fly in to give his thoughts on the future of fans and the technology they will use to consume sport.

The only way to listen to these and 96 other world class speakers gathering at the leaders Sport Summit is by joining the ever growing waiting list and hoping that the organisers receive enough cancellations in the build up to next week to reallocate passes. For those fortunate enough to confirm their place at the Summit, all conference agendas and speaker lists have been made available through the individual conference websites.

Leaders Sports Summit is a coming together of 5 leading conferences including Leaders in Football, Leaders in Performance, Leaders in Sponsorship, Leaders in Digital Sport and Leaders in Racing, over 10th and 11th October at Chelsea FC. For more information contact enquiry@leadersinevents.com or call +44 (0) 207 042 8666.

Leaders in Football 2012 has assembled a record number and quality of speakers with Brazil 2014, Development of Asian Football, Spain’s winning formula, MLS franchise ownership, Player development, sport in the Middle East, Governance in CONCACAF, the future of European Football and much more making it the must attend event in the business calendar. These include:

Angel Maria Villar Llona, President, Spanish Football Federation; Jean-Claude Blanc, Director General, Paris St-Germain; Barney Francis, Managing Director, Sky Sports; HRH Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, Vice President, FIFA; Umberto Gandini, Organising Director, AC Milan; Ronaldo Luiz Nazario De Lima, Board Member, World Cup 2014 Organising Committee ; Karen Espelund, Executive Committee Member, UEFA; Thierry Weil, Marketing Director, FIFA; Pierluigi Collina, Chief Refereeing Officer, UEFA; Ivan Gazidis, CEO, Arsenal FC; Michael Owen, Player, Stoke City FC; Ricardo Trade, COO, World Cup 2014 Organising Committee; Don Garber, Commissioner, Major League Soccer; Robb Heineman, CEO & Owner, Sporting Kansas City; Ian Ayre, Managing Director, Liverpool FC; Adrian Hanauer, Owner, Seattle Sounders FC; Jeffrey Webb, President, CONCACAF; Kohzo Tashima, General Secretary, Japan FA; Heather Rabbatts, Non-Executive Director, The FA; Walter di Gregorio, Communications Director, FIFA; Winston Lee, General Secretary, Singapore Football Association; Merritt Paulson, Owner, Portland Timbers FC; Paolo di Canio, Manager, Swindon Town.

With over 15 TV networks and 120 media organisations covering the event live, and the conference streamed live as it happens, their comments are sure to be reported world-wide. This is the only guaranteed way to see what happens at the Leaders’ event this year if you have not been able to secure your pass in time.

Leaders in Football is recognised as the premium annual event in the international football business calendar with an invitation only audience of 1,000 senior level delegates linked to Clubs, Leagues, Associations, Federations and Brands. Information about the agenda is continually made available through the Content Page of the event website, click here.

To find out more about Leaders in Football 2012 please click here.