FOOTBALL FAILURES IN ITALY

In recent years, we have witnessed a growth in Italian football, after one of the darkest periods in its history. Since the last European victory by Inter in 2010, only Juventus has managed to keep Italy’s name high in continental competitions. Meanwhile, other clubs struggled greatly to balance their finances and navigated through unprofitable investments. This led to historically prominent teams like Inter and Roma having lean years, despite well-thought-out investments, while the gap between them and their main rivals continued to widen. However, while these clubs managed to stay afloat despite millions in debt, their fate was not shared by many other professional clubs.

It’s worth noting that, with the recent exclusions of clubs like Pro Piacenza and Matera from the league, the number of professional teams that have gone bankrupt since 2013 is 40. When considering the past 15 years, the number becomes staggering: over 150 total bankruptcies. In the last season, we witnessed a massacre of historic clubs forced to restart from the amateur leagues. Among them, Cesena, Avellino, and Bari stand out. One particularly curious case is that of the Emilia-Romagna-based club, which had to face a total debt of over €70 million, of which €40 million was owed to the tax authorities. The rarity of this situation lies in the fact that insolvency for smaller football clubs rarely exceeds a few million euros.

So what is behind these financial collapses? In the summer, when clubs need to register for their respective leagues, many teams often present partial guarantees due to their limited financial stability. These same teams often find themselves struggling in all areas during the season. In most cases, in Serie C clubs, players often go without pay due to lack of liquidity. To put it simply, teams spend and promise to spend more than their actual financial capabilities allow.

To try and contain this phenomenon, the FIGC (Italian Football Federation) has introduced some guidelines that must be followed for league registration. However, it’s still not enough. Italy is no stranger to penalties for financial non-compliance, which creates confusion in the football landscape and is not an effective strategy, as it cannot prevent future issues. Currently, when a team faces financial difficulties and receives a penalty, a bureaucratic process opens up, filled with appeals and counter-appeals in an attempt to avoid further sanctions. The bureaucracy in this case does not help, as it prolongs the time before penalties are actually enforced.

So what can be done to change the system? Certainly, there is a need for greater clarity and stricter rules that must be followed. The financial stability of teams should be assessed immediately to avoid repeating the mistakes made in recent years. Additionally, the current system should be reconsidered: the approximately 100 professional teams currently in operation are clearly too many to be efficiently supported. Perhaps the solution could be to introduce semi-professionalism, as is already done in England, Spain, and France. In this way, teams coming from the amateur leagues would have the chance to move up step by step, without the risk of collapsing due to the heavy costs they must face.

Credits to Sergio Brigo