This summer's Olympic programme sees St James’ Park in Newcastle hosting several key overseas teams in the Olympic Football Programme - Mexico, Republic of Korea, Gabon, Switzerland, Spain, Honduras, Japan, Morocco, Brazil and New Zealand.
In addition we will see Canada, Sweden, France and Colombia bring their ladies teams to the region and given that Sunderland AFC Ladies just won the ladies premiership, there is plenty of opportunity for us to fly the flag here also.
Aside from the World (and pending European?) champions Spain, it is excellent to see all these fantastic countries bringing a taste of their cultural and football skills to the North East.
Historically, the region has a lot to live up to as West Auckland FC won the very first World Cup (the Lipton Trophy) in 1909.
West Auckland made the journey to Turin, where the first tournament was being held, many of the players paying out of their own pocket to do so. They beat Sportfreunde Stuttgart in the semi-finals 2–0. In the final, on 12 April 1909, West Auckland faced Swiss side FC Winterthur and beat them 2–0 to take the trophy.
Two years later, West Auckland returned and after beating FC Zürich 2–0, they ran out 6–1 winners in the final over future Italian giants Juventus. By the rules of competition, they were awarded the trophy to keep in perpetuity.
Sadly, the club was later forced to pawn the trophy to the landlady of the local hotel because of financial problems. It remained with her family until 1960 when a village appeal raised money to return the cup to the club. The cup was then stolen in 1994 and despite the best efforts of local police and a £2,000 reward it was never found. An exact replica of the cup can now be found in a secure cabinet in the West Auckland Working Men's Club.
North Korea visited the North East in the 1966 World Cup and at Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough they drew with Chile and then defied the odds by beating hot favourites Italy 1-0 with a 42nd minute goal by Pak Doo Ik . The Middlesbrough public took the North Koreans to their hearts and followed them to Goodison Park to see them take a 3-0 lead over Eusebio's Portugal only to lose 5-3! The rest is history …
Well the world has changed a bit since 1966, but the role sport can play in enhancing business and cultural links should not be underestimated.
The travel, tourism, business and cultural opportunities are large - for example the Brazilians are bringing a dancing troupe with them and are hoping to link up with North East dance organisations and begin a two way exchange.
The world’s biggest half-marathon, the Great North Run (big thank you to Brendan Foster!) is another excellent example of the role of sport and how it helps put the region on the world map. Meanwhile the Emirates Stadium in Durham is hosting the Australian cricket team in July and business exports to Australia from the North East have continued to grow since Emirates put on its direct Newcastle - Dubai - Sydney link.
I'm also aware that some North East companies have done very well in using the Olympics as a springboard to supply future Games - Rio in 2016 and Sochi in 2014. Well done to them.
Have a great Olympics, watch out for the torch if you're in the North East and remember to work with sport to maximise all your cultural and business opportunities…