On the afternoon of Thursday, April 27, a roundtable discussion on sustainability in the world of football took place in the Aula Magna on Via Gobbi at Bocconi University. The panel included important figures from the sector, such as Alessandro Antonello, CEO of Inter; Maria Luisa Colledani, journalist at Il Sole 24 Ore; Laura Giuliani, goalkeeper for Milan Femminile and the Italian National Team; Paolo Scaroni, president of Milan; and Michele Uva, Social and Environmental Sustainability Director of UEFA. The role of moderator was entrusted to Professor Gianmarco Ottaviano from Bocconi University. The title of the conference referenced the recently published book by Uva and Colledani on the subject, which precisely outlines how ideas, along with resources, can contribute to making a football club sustainable.
After the greetings from Professor Donato Masciandaro, director of the Baffi Carefin Center, which organized the event, Professor Ariela Caglio introduced the topic, stating that in football, there is no longer a confrontation with sustainability, but that now the two terms are intertwined. The direction that the football system intends to take is one focused on environmental, social, and economic sustainability, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda. The initiative Football for the Goals, created by the United Nations, symbolizes this idea. Every fan can also realize how important this topic is for clubs by looking at sustainability rankings, which assess clubs based on ESG dimensions, such as those conducted by Responsible or Brand Directory, which differ in their algorithms but share a common denominator: the clubs’ interest in ESG issues.
A first lever for creating synergies between sustainability dimensions is to measure and communicate, both internally and externally, one’s commitment to sustainability, a true vehicle for value generation. This allows for better decision-making processes, both for the self-discipline of the organization and for accountability to the outside, as well as improving dialogue with stakeholders and investors, raising the overall level of the value creation process. ESG sustainability is complemented by sports sustainability, but the key lever that enables sustainability is innovation, which is crucial for success in football through ideas.
Uva explained that two years ago, when he took on his current role at UEFA, he was tasked with clarifying the issue at the European football level within the organization: “Initially, it wasn’t easy, as social responsibility existed as a form of civil support activity but was not directly incorporated into the strategies of either the institutions or the clubs.” A strategy was then created directly applied to the football product, involving other institutions such as the United Nations, due to the significant communicative power of the sport, thus creating awareness campaigns for fans. Eleven policies were established, seven social and four environmental.
In this process, UEFA had to involve all national federations, requiring them to appoint a sustainability manager, threatening to cut access to UEFA funds (similar to how Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, often warned CEOs of funded companies through his letters to pursue corporate sustainability or lose their capital), in addition to approving more than 55 sustainability programs from federations. Change is more complex at the league level, but “we are working on it,” while for the clubs, UEFA licenses were leveraged, requiring them to have a sustainability manager on their team.
By appointing 550 managers in clubs and another 55 in federations, a “community that speaks with a sustainable language, governed by football grammar” has been formed. Uva concluded by announcing that from the European Championship to be held in Germany in 2024, a sustainability measurement system will be available. This is intended to accelerate the process, as the goal is “to become leaders in sustainability and inspire other sports,” through a collective effort by all involved.
Antonello, for his part, clarified how governance models have evolved over time: they were once very simple because the football business was simple, with magnates sustaining clubs with their wealth, revenues coming from stadium ticket sales, and expenses mainly for player transfer fees. Governance has evolved, and today it requires more advanced scientific models, already applied in industrial and service sectors, with football adapting by including highly professional individuals in its workforce.
A fundamental element is managing the atypical nature of football, as it must combine both sporting competitiveness, considered by Antonello as “industry oxygen,” and sustainability as competitive balance, in order to protect the football system and avoid monopolistic positions within the sector.
Modern football, born in the 1980s with TV rights and sponsorships, led to the football economic boom, followed by the introduction of Law No. 91/1981 for professional teams and the 1995 Bosman ruling, which established that European Union footballers can transfer freely at the expiration of their contracts to any club in a member state, as well as the ability to sign a pre-contract with another club six months before their contract ends. Today, the football system competes with the entire entertainment world, with the goal of “working to win people’s free time.”
Regarding international investors, Antonello, on behalf of Inter, feels lucky to “have Suning as a guarantor of stability and a clear strategy, having opened the doors to a global dimension for the club by changing the daily work approach.” From the patronage of the Moratti family, the club transitioned to a more corporate governance model, aiming to compete internationally while also restructuring the company into an entertainment entity, close to the global audience (around 400-500 million people follow the club). President Zhang, who took on his role at 27-28 years old, has proven to be close both in age and mindset to the new generations and the digital world.
Foreign investors, Antonello concludes, bring different methods and cultures, so clubs must align their approaches with those of foreign methodologies. The strong interest from private equity in football has created new phenomena that UEFA is working on, such as multiple ownerships (consider Manchester City and its affiliated clubs) to create an efficient system.
Scaroni, in response to repeated questions about Milan’s stadium, which he humorously described as “a decade-long saga, to the point that some online call me ‘Stadioni’,” continued by explaining how, in football, revenue can be significantly increased with an efficient stadium, without raising ticket prices for fans but by hosting companies that can use the opportunity to attend matches as a promotional tool, a method already employed abroad thanks to the facilities available to European clubs. Italy still struggles to compete with European football, with a revenue gap of around €60 million, putting the economic situation at risk. According to Scaroni, “Football is like climbing two mountains, one of economic results and one of sporting results, and you must reach the top of both at the same time.” He expressed satisfaction with Milan’s progress, as economically, the club halved its losses in the latest financial statement and is very close to the breakeven point in the current fiscal year (though this will need to be verified at the end of the year), while on the sporting side, “we cannot complain.”
The third mountain to climb is sustainability, and Scaroni, on behalf of Milan, fully supports UEFA’s project. Social responsibility is fundamental, believing in the power of fighting against all forms of discrimination through the great communicative power of the football system. Scaroni concluded by stating that every employee of the club must represent Milan’s style, characterized by a moderate language and respect for everyone in the football world. This style has permeated the entire Milan environment, and they feel it is essential to set a good example for fans through their behavior.
Giuliani brought her experience as an active player to the roundtable, stating that as an athlete, one notices that within social sustainability, diversity is a key issue, as athletes from different cultures need to be integrated to improve collective performance: “To build a team with athletes from diverse backgrounds, a common language must be found.”
The goalkeeper also confirmed Milan’s style on behalf of the entire club, aligning with the message conveyed by President Scaroni. “When working with people you don’t know, to achieve results, it’s crucial to consider the human resource as a whole person, not just as an athlete or employee.” According to Giuliani, it’s important to make a teammate feel part of the group in the right context, showing unity and attracting the attention of stakeholders by setting an example, especially for fans. Giuliani, who joined Milan after other experiences, felt “at home because the attention to the individual is so strong, leading me to identify as Laura in all aspects of the working environment.” Being comfortable and making her teammates comfortable has created the conditions for peak performance.
The roundtable ended with an intervention by Colledani, who explained how technology has changed football, stating that attention to data analysis has been present for a long time: “In 2012, Arsenal created a team to analyze data, monitoring players during training and matches, forming a database of all players to optimize their performance, prevent and treat injuries, establish specific diets, determine the best time to achieve peak form, and so on.” Nowadays, mapping everything that happens on the field is so widespread that even second-tier clubs have professionals handling data for the coaching staff.
Technology also aids in scouting, with reports on players from all over the world allowing the value of thousands of players to be assessed (here, the important mention of WyScout, a crown jewel of Made in Italy). Another area where technology proves effective is stadiums: “Germany 2024 will be an event formed by low-impact environmental infrastructures, highly technological, including ticket management, as each fan will be able to communicate the means of transportation they will use to reach the stadium, to help manage traffic around the event.” Regarding fan tokens, which are now popular among supporters, Colledani described them as almost a form of entertainment but also a great opportunity for enthusiasts: in Turkey, for example, important decision-making for clubs is delegated to their holders (such as decisions about kit designs).
“The technological outlook is still growing, as evidenced by the phenomenon of the metaverse, where the goal is to digitally recreate local spaces to further engage fans scattered around the globe.” The shares of these latest innovations are small, but according to Colledani, the growth potential is significant because new generations are attracted to a different way of communicating compared to the past, while still appreciating the importance of a proper balance between the use of technology and human intuition.
The event concluded with a Q&A session, including an important intervention by Paolo Condò, the famous sports journalist, to which the guests promptly responded. It can certainly be said that it was a very pleasant afternoon spent within the walls of the University, both for the guests and for the Bocconi community, which demonstrated a great deal of attention to the topic and showed satisfaction at every key moment of the event. The hope is that many more such events will follow, so that the economic side can increasingly be combined with ideas, especially in a context like football.
By Marco Munari
BOCCONI STUDENTS FOR SPORT MANAGEMENT 