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9 months ago
40 ARTICLE AD
Economic crisis, dilapidated stadiums, low use of young players, national team in reconstruction… Italy is having difficulty developing its football which was once one of the most glorious in Europe. The golden hours of Italian football now seem very distant. The time when Serie A established itself as the best championship in the world with Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, AS Roma and Parma Calcio is only a pleasant lost memory. Calcio has been going through some very dark times for several years and is struggling to assimilate the modernity of football. But the president of the FIGC, Gabriele Gravina, has several ideas to revolutionize Calcio but before launching his policy of major works, he must convince the major players, starting with the clubs: “This will be the year of reform, the path is clear. I’m not talking about the championships, which is a consequence, I’m referring to the new rules. Economic sustainability, the relationship between clubs, footballers and coaches and the valorization of the youth supply chain, these are the central themes on which the future of Italian football is played out. I have several proposals to put on the table, the time has come for each one. I ask the MP to take a step back to take five steps forward in total.
An informal meeting took place on January 10 between FIGC President Gabriele Gravina and representatives of Serie A clubs to begin discussing the reform of Italian football that the Federation plans to implement. At the end of the meeting, which lasted around three hours, Giuseppe Marotta, the president of Inter Milan, wanted to make a brief comment, saying that it was a “constructive meeting”. “We talked about reform of the championships and not only that, but also a set of reforms which concern professional football in general. It was a very useful meeting, which will continue in the coming days”, added Bologna president Claudio Fenucci. Several meetings will take place during the year 2024 between Italian institutions and club presidents in the hope of agreeing on a roadmap to follow to grow Italian football. The date of March 11, 2024 is already key, this day could be remembered by Calcio for different reasons.
Conflict with the FIGC and the Lega
The reform of the Italian championships still encounters strong opposition from Serie B and Serie C clubs and part of those from Serie A. To make it more acceptable, a solution must be found with all the protagonists of Italian football , in order to better install the official reduction of teams for each championship. The president of the FIGC, Gabriele Gravina, the president of the Lega, Lorenzo Casini, and the leaders of the Italian clubs notably discussed this drastic reduction in the number of professional teams per championship, at a time when 100 clubs are currently distributed in three championships. The reduction would apply to these three professional levels: Serie A, Serie B and Serie C would then be reduced to 18 teams. The other idea currently circulating in the corridors of the FIGC is to integrate a Playoff system, i.e. playoffs between the three championships. To ensure its rise to the upper echelons, the last in Serie A would meet the first in Serie B and the last in Serie B with the first in Serie C – if the establishment of a Lega Pro with a single third division of 18 teams is confirmed since today, Serie C is divided into three regional groups for a total of 60 teams. The hypothesis of a return of Serie C2 as a fourth semi-professional division is considered.
For the moment the positions within the Italian League still remain quite disparate: the major Calcio teams would be in favor of a reduction to 18 teams, which would make it possible to cope with the numerous commitments of the next seasons of world football (including the League of Champions and the Club World Cup to 32 teams), while the smaller teams naturally aim to maintain the current format of 20 participants in the hope of not risking losing a place at the big table, at time Italy tops the UEFA Association club coefficient rankings after the group stage of European competitions this season. To adopt an official reform, Serie A will need a majority of 14 votes, which currently seems difficult to obtain. The next meeting between the Italian clubs is scheduled for January 26. Meanwhile, the Football Federation continues its momentum: Gravina has repeatedly expressed its intention to reform the football system and has set its goal for March 11, the date on which an extraordinary meeting of the Federal Council is scheduled. If an agreement is not found, the obligation which allows the different actors to block the reform could disappear, but obviously everyone’s objective is to find a shared solution within the next two months.
Arm wrestling with Giorgia Meloni
Beyond the purely sporting changes decided by footballing authorities, Italian clubs must also accept recent political choices voted by the government of Giorgia Meloni, president of the Italian Council of Ministers. Indeed, in the last weeks of 2023, Italian clubs learned unexpected news: the official end of the decree crescita. Introduced in 2019 in Serie A, this tax boost, introduced in 2019, made it possible to exempt 50% of the salaried income of foreign players from tax. If until now these tax reductions made it possible to attract foreign stars (Ibrahimovic, Lukaku, Pogba, Di Maria, Mourinho, etc.) or Italians who have resided abroad for at least 2 years, this government decision completely reshuffles the cards. Note that the end of the decree officially came into force on January 1, 2024. An aberration for many Italian leaders, starting with Giorgio Furlani, the president of AC Milan: “The Decreto Crescita is the only law that has helped us in Italy. Getting rid of it is madness. Football is not a toy, it is an industry which attracts foreign capital and from which the country derives a significant return. Thanks to the Decreto Crescita, we can attract talents who have had success in Europe. This allowed us to maintain the same level of TV rights and attracted infrastructure investment from foreign capital.. As a reminder, Italy is preparing to organize, jointly with Turkey, Euro 2032 and needless to say that the Turkish football ecosystem today seems much more solid and sustainable than that of Calcio.
“On this issue, the FIGC has always thought that the growth decree was not the right instrument to guarantee economic benefits to professional clubs, with Minister Abodi we share all files for the development of Italian football with mutual respect and great collaboration. However, the most difficult problems affect the whole of Government and the whole of Parliament. In 2024, football and politics should sign a pact to allow our sector to best express its full potential, in the interest of the country., recently affirmed Gravina who is trying to maintain a dialogue with Giorgia Meloni and her Minister of Sports, Andrea Abodi. Questioned on this subject, the president of Torino, Urbano Cairo, attacked the Italian politicians who are completely abandoning the environment: “It almost seems like the government wants to destroy football, it’s unbelievable. The State does not provide the slightest help, you saw what happened with the growth decree which was also an advantage for the country. By removing it, football was penalized without anyone benefiting. Then there is the question of bets which are worth 16 billion euros and from which we do not take a cent. Finally, the stadiums: there are teams who want to build them but cannot. The State must also help football, because it employs hundreds of thousands of people and contributes 1.3 billion to the public treasury per year, not counting the entire betting front. Why do they want to destroy football, which is an important industry that provides work for so many people?. In any case, Italy needs major reforms to become and regain its position as a great footballing nation…
