The CEO of the Serie A, Luigi De Siervo, spoke to Radio24, returning to the topic of the Supercup and the possibility of playing some rounds of the Italian championship abroad. A topic that had already been discussed in recent days by President Lorenzo Casini.
Serie A, Casini: «We are considering the possibility of playing a matchday abroad»
«The balance of the Italian Supercup with the final 4 system is excellent. Like all new projects, we thought there would need more time to perfect it, but in reality, already in this first edition with 4 teams, we have achieved excellent results in terms of audience, both for the two semi-finals and with the final between Napoli and Inter, which beat last year's final in terms of audience (Inter-Milan), which on paper should have reached a larger audience».
The hot topic is also the possibility of playing at least one matchday of the Serie A championship abroad in the coming years. On this, De Siervo expressed himself as follows: «Football in Saudi Arabia is growing and the country is preparing to host the 2034 World Cup. The investments in sports are increasingly significant, the opportunity had to be seized. As Barone, De Laurentiis, Lotito and Marotta reiterated, Saudi Arabia is a scenario that, for the coming years, football cannot ignore».
«To be competitive Serie A must project itself internationally, considering that over 90% of our fans are abroad. Twenty years ago our championship missed the globalization train. At the time we were focused only on Italy. You should consider that over 70% of the audience in Saudi Arabia is under 35 years old. It is a rapidly rising market and thinking of not positioning ourselves in this type of market is like ignoring the fall of the Berlin Wall. It's a high potential market and as Serie A we need to be present. In the past it was China, before that the United States. Today it is Saudi Arabia. Now playing official matches abroad is a consolidated practice for the major leagues. Even non-football leagues like the NBA and NFL do it without any kind of controversy».
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