Cal Blankendal was all ears yesterday as he attended the two-day Leaders in Football conference in London with many of the games biggest names on hand for the forum.

The conference is being held at Chelsea FC and consists of presentations on the upcoming European Championships in 2012 as well as a question and answer section for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding nations.

The South African World Cup CEO Danny Jordan also talked about his role at the this sumer's tournament won by Spain.

Blankendal, who covered his own cost for the trip, was pleased with how the first day went, which included chats with Arsenal FC chairman David Rein and General Secretary of the Dutch KNVB Harry Been.

"The first day was very successful, interesting and offered great networking opportunities," said Blankendal, who last week returned to his former position as Bermuda Football Association's vice-president.

"It has also been pleasant to see some old acquaintances from the other CFU countries. I have held talks with David Dein – Chairman of Arsenal FC and Harry Been – General Secretary of the Dutch KNVB.

"South African World Cup CEO Danny Jordan discussed his role as CEO of the 2010 World Cup and the challenges he faced and the legacy left behind for South Africa and the world.

"It was a great day and to my surprise, once other attending delegates knew that a representative of Bermuda was going to be present, they made a concerted effort to find the sole Bermuda's representative."

Among the discussions at the conference were the status reports of the Ukraine and Poland as they prepare to host the 2012 European Championship.

Also in the frame was a question and answer segment for the four prospective host nations for the 2018 World Cup as well as the 2022 World Cup.

The 2018 bidding nations are England, Holland/Belgium, Spain/Portugal and Russia, while Japan, Korea, Qatar, and the United States will vie for 2022. "The manner in which each nation presented their bids, spoke passionately about their nations and the product they can deliver was thought provoking," said Blakendal, the Dandy Town director of football.

"In addition to that, the exhibition boots and educational, marketing and technical information available will provide sufficient resource materials for the next two to three years."

The opening day closed with the chairman's of West Ham, Chelsea, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC and Real Salt Lake (MLS) discussing the challenges and innovative solutions to managing a Premier Club/MLS team.