Turin Club Chairman Urbano Cairo attended the 7th Sports Industry Economic Forum and talked about many football-related topics.
What is the current situation of Italian football?
At present, Italian football is still greatly affected by the sequelae of the new crown epidemic. The government does not provide support for the football industry - even though the industry contributes more than 1 billion euros in tax revenue and more than 100,000 jobs to the country. This influence still exists today.
There are too many professional clubs (Serie A, Serie B, Serie C) in Italy?
We have 100 professional clubs, which is much more than other important leagues, and it is also unbearable for us. Clubs can be encouraged to have B teams, because many teams in Serie C have found it difficult to maintain.
Italian clubs rarely have their own stadiums
Yes, there are very few clubs that own stadiums, and many of them are very dilapidated. In other countries, the stadiums are beautiful and comfortable, giving people a good viewing experience. Italian Sports Minister Abedi has introduced us to the special commissioner for the new stadium who will help, and the Turin club is currently considering this issue.
About stolen matches
The club loses about 300 million euros every year. This is a problem that must be solved as soon as possible.
Clubs need to control costs
Cost control is the most important issue. Spain has done a good job in this regard, but in Italy, 13 of the 20 Serie A clubs are losing money.
Is the Italian government not supporting the football industry because football is not as popular as it used to be?
Maybe, but the football industry has made a huge contribution, but it has not received support compared to industries such as movies. The Italian Football Federation should send this message to the government, they don't pay enough attention to the football industry. Football needs support, not just free subsidies, for example in the form of tax breaks related to investment in young players and stadiums. In addition, there is the gambling sector. Unlike many other countries, the Italian football industry does not receive any revenue from gambling revenue, and the gambling industry revenue here is as high as 16 billion euros.
Is the poor performance of the Italian national team because there are no new outstanding young players?
Our youth training is very good. Italy is the country with the highest number of national youth teams of all ages that have advanced to competitions. But the problem is that our U21 players have very little playing time, and foreign players account for 63% of the playing time. If we want to revitalize football, we have to get young players out there. Rather than restricting foreign players, I prefer to reward clubs that invest in young players and give them playing opportunities.
Future Development of Turin Club
We have the intention to do better than in the past, I am optimistic, and I believe we are making important infrastructure investments. New stadium construction? We will discuss the feasibility with the mayor and I hope it can be implemented.
source:7m cn7