Italian FA requests gambling sponsorship ban hiatus

The Italian FA (FIGC) has called on the country’s government to suspend a prohibition on gambling-related sponsorships to aid the recovery of Italian football finances following the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a new report entitled Analysis and socio-economic impact of Italian professional football, the FIGC suggested the ban be lifted until 30 June 2023 in a move which would allow gambling operators to sponsor Italian football clubs.

FIGC revealed Italian football clubs have lost €314m (£268m) in revenue over the last two years due to supporters not being able to attend matches, with an estimated €244m lost in sponsorship revenue over the same period.

“Indirectly and induced, the pandemic has produced a significant impact on all sectors of the production chain and the value chain activated by Italian football,” the report read.

“It is estimated that the impact on GDP has decreased by 18%, from €10.1bn to € 8.2bn,” the report stated.

FIGC estimates as many as 27,000 football jobs were lost because of the pandemic, with Italian football losing 23% of registered players (245,000) during the last two years.

“The serious economic repercussions generated by the pandemic emergency from Covid-19 and the consequent containment measures to which the professional clubs have undergone have now become unsustainable,” the FIGC said.

“This is jeopardising the survival of the entire sector, as amply demonstrated in the document sent. In fact, Italy’s general economic recovery is also slowing down,” the body added.

To springboard a recovery of Italian football from the pandemic, FIGC has proposed six further measures in addition to the sponsorship ban amnesty, including the postponement of payment of tax and social security contributions for a period of up to five years.

FIGC has recommended the Italian government to introduce bail-out measures to “support the liquidity of sports clubs as well as guarantee instruments dedicated to companies in crisis”, as well as introducing mechanisms including tax credits and contribution relief for young professional footballers.

The FIGC’s plans also envision the creation of a “football safe fund” to collect 1% of any bet placed on all Italian sports, even virtual, through online and retail channels.

The fund, which would run until 30 June 2023, aims to support and revive national professional and amateur football, the Women’s Football Division and the Youth and School Sector.

“We are at a crossroads,” FIGC president Gabriele Gravina said.

“We must act quickly to prevent the professional football crisis from stopping the clubs from playing, not only bringing the entire sports sector to its knees, but also the companies of the 12 product sectors connected to it and the entire country system, with an undesirable decrease in direct and indirect tax contributions.

“We did not ask the government for refreshments, rather to recognise the socio-economic importance that football has through the adoption of some urgent measures to relieve the clubs from the crisis generated by Covid-19.

“Football can play a decisive role in Italy’s overall recovery,” Gravina added.