Italian football loses 1 billion a year, wages and governance reform are needed

The public and commercial success of the national team at Euro 2020 demonstrates the social and economic strength of Italian football and it is not surprising that investment funds, televisions and streaming platforms compete for it with billions and antitrust appeals. But the coronavirus pandemic has exposed club debts and structural deficits. To get out of the crisis, the ball must reduce costs, improve governance and increase revenues, as Emanuele Floridi, consultant to the football industry and its most important activity, namely television rights, as well as advisor to companies, explains to MF Milano Finanza media and tlc. On the result of the latest auction for TV rights, Floridi explains that “Serie A was the only one to compete on the market in the pandemic era and will gross about 1.3 billion a year between 2021 and 2024, about 190 million in less than in the previous three-year period, also due to the decline in the Middle East-Africa area, perhaps too valued in the last cycle. Credit must be given to the CEO of the League, Luigi De Siervo, who worked well and in a very difficult moment achieved an important result, especially in the domestic sphere, bringing with the FIGC a wind of novelty in sports and commercial management. But it is only the first step: the system loses over a billion every 12 months “.” It is necessary to ask the government for attention for such an important industry. The priority issue to be addressed is, however, structural and global. Fifa, Uefa, national federations and players’ associations must agree on a cap on the salaries of the players and commissions of the agents. of work is too high. The limit may also be temporary, but it is urgent for the survival and sustainability of football “, adds Floridi.