Sport, “There is an urgent need for reforms.” Cones, football and politics between ideas and proposals to ward off the crisis – Corriere.it

The voice came loud and clear. Italian sport asks the government for a hand to change, grow, evolve. Finding new forms of business and revenues from infrastructures and TV rights, riding the long wave of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Games to accelerate a necessary recovery process. This is what emerged from “Sport Industry Talk – International scenarios and innovation in sport”the table at which the great names of sports institutions met.

A sector that must be protected because “it is one of the immune and social defenses of our country. Where it is more developed, the quality of life is better. It has an industrial dimension, it must produce value in order to redistribute it ”, explains the Minister of Sport and Youth Policies Andrea Abodiinterviewed by the editor of Corriere Luciano Fontana. Football is the driving force and “must receive more attention,” says Urbano Cairo, president of Torino and RCS: «The pandemic has had an impact on the balance sheets of the companies. I’ve never liked asking for help, I’m not used to it. But football needs it to get out of this pit and start again by doing the right things ».

Abodi is an ally of football, starting with the theme of five-year installment of personal income tax payments for clubs: «I have expressed a positive opinion, but it will be the ministry of the economy to draw conclusions ». The new minister – applauded by the number one of the Cones Giovanni Malagò: «The right person, at the right time, in the right place» – pushes away the Superlega specter, which «finds space when the championships suffer. The more we are able to give answers, the more there will be a different continuity ».

The president of the FIGC Gabriele Gravina speaks of “cultural revolution” – among the protagonists of the event organized by RCS Academy And Corriere della Sera with the partnership of Aci and the Istituto per il Credito Sportivo and with the support of Sisal and the patronage of Assi Manager – who hopes for a turnaround: «In our football there is an endemic criticality, debt. Revenues and costs are misaligned. We need a reform that enhances the brand. We must invest in the youth sectors and reduce costs ». A line shared by Cairo: “We need a limit to the hiring of players and coaches with international rules”the so-called Salary cap, a common salary cap that “can only be implemented together with the other European championships”, confirms Lorenzo Casini, leader of the Serie A League.

Broadening horizons is Massimo Temperelli’s suggestion of Sisal, finding new growth margins is what has done president of the women’s division Ludovica Mantovani (intervened with Carolina Morace). But to increase revenues you have to modernize infrastructureone of the three key points (with resources and culture) of Casini to relaunch the ball. “Many clubs have found it difficult to build a stadium – the outburst of Cairo -. The authorities need less snares and snares ».

Criticalities also remembered by Evelina Christillin, Uefa member of the FIFA Council (ready for the World Cup in Qatar which, he trusts, will pay “great attention to human rights”). A decisive boost can come from the 2032 Europeans, for which Italy’s candidacy was supported by Abodi: «A reason for great satisfaction – says Gravina -. Provisions of law will be needed to design plants in step with the times ». Words that will have comforted Beppe Marotta, CEO of Inter, present at the conference.

The 2026 Olympics is synonymous with infrastructure, Mayor Sala proved optimistic, Malagò agrees: «It will be a great success, but we need to adapt some rules for some indispensable interventions. And team up ». Cairo believes it, applauding the Olympics: “We must congratulate Mayor Sala, with the governors of Lombardy and Veneto, Fontana and Zaia, with President Malagò: the Games will give an exceptional boost to the whole country”. “We will make a contribution of three billion to the Italian GDP,” says proudly Thomas Bach, president of the IOC. “They must be within everyone’s reach,” says Deborah Compagnoni, ambassador of Milan-Cortina.

The story of the Giro d’Italia by Paolo Bellino, CEO of RCS Sports, is passionate. Lively talk between Gianni Petrucci, “governor” of basketballwhich demands attention on the reform of the law on sport and Massimo Righi, number one of the volleyball league, which speaks of the growth of volleyball, a happy sport. Umberto Gandini, number 1 of the basketball league, also spoke.

TV rights, a hot topic for everyone, tormented by football: “We have received expressions of interest from multiple funds”, says Casini. “Italian football has made mistakes, but it has incredible potential,” observes Cairo confidently. Now it needs to be developed.