Waiting for David in the concrete bowels of the Parc des Princes is a sweaty affair. More than 400 journalists have packed into a press room which can comfortably take 200 and usually attracts 20. The boy David – at 37, there is something still irresistibly boyish about Beckham – has been undergoing a medical at the hospital where Diana, Princess of Wales, died in August 1997.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy added his voice to the growing calls to switch the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup to the winter when he made his first public speaking appearance since May today by addressing the conference here.

In January 2015, Australia will host the Asian Cup. It is a prospect that has not only excited thousands of Australian football fans, it also offers opportunities for the commercial, cultural and diplomatic communities of Australia.

The man responsible for Ukraine's Euro 2012 football championship has said Uefa is doing more than the EU institutions to modernise the country..."I think the image of the Ukrainian police will change during this tournament ... I think Europe will discover Ukraine."

Ghana's soft power in the area of football is increasingly becoming seductive and an important determinant of the nation brand. Football has long become an European cultural export and an active part of their Public Diplomacy efforts.