ITALY Law and Practice Contributed by: Maurizio Marullo, Giorgio Vagnoni and Francesco Amoresano, LAWP Studio legale e tributario
Eligibility Criteria Certain sports federations (eg, FIGC) provide that any entity willing to acquire a membership interest in a professional football club must meet certain financial and integrity requirements and demonstrate and/or declare (as the case may be) that they are not involved in previous criminal proceedings or in any insolvency situations involving other clubs. Failing that, an inves - tor will not be able to exercise control over the target club until approval from the federation is granted. Insolvency in Sports Professional clubs are subject to the provisions appli - cable to companies under the Italian “Business Crisis and Insolvency Code” and may be subject to judicial liquidation where certain legal requirements are met. The application of said provisions to non-profession - al clubs is debatable, especially when they carry out commercial activities. Insolvency is also sanctioned by sports regulations. By way of example, the latest “National Licensing System 2025/2026” states that clubs must prove they have fulfilled several obligations, including the payment of: • fees, training compensations and solidarity con - tributions owed for international and domestic acquisitions of players; • debts owed to the FIGC, leagues and other Italian clubs; • emoluments, taxes, welfare, social security and end-of-career contributions due to players, coach - es, members, employees, managers, medical and technical staff, etc; and • VAT and other taxes and contributions (eg, IRAP, IRES etc). Failing that, insolvent clubs are excluded from com - petitions and their affiliation is revoked. Moreover, under the FIGC NOIF, clubs that enter into debt-restructuring procedures in business continuity are also subject to disciplinary consequences, and specifically to a ban from registering new players for up to four transfer windows. If a club is declared insolvent by the judicial author - ity during the course of a sports season, to safe -
guard ongoing competition the insolvent club may be allowed to temporarily continue its business and sports activities until the end of the football season. Should the club cease its activities due to insolvency, its athletes would be automatically released and the sport title (including trade marks, etc) would be sub - ject to asset sale within the framework of a bidding procedure. 4.3 Sport Funding Public Funding Italian governments are increasing sports funding with the aim of upgrading obsolete sports facilities throughout the country and promoting sports among youngsters, women and disabled people. A significant part of these public funds is allocated yearly to sports organisations through Sport e Salute S.p.A., a joint- stock company connected to CONI. Public funding for sports has drastically increased since the introduction of the 2021 National Recov - ery Plan. Specific funds have been allocated for the upgrade of public sports infrastructure and for the upgrade and/or construction of venues for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. The Sports and Culture Credit Institute The Sports and Culture Credit Institute ( Istituto per il Credito Sportivo e Culturale ) is a “social bank for the sustainable development of sports and culture”, granting low-interest loans to public and private enti - ties for the implementation of sports facilities, includ - ing funds to purchase real estate lots to be dedicated to the construction of sports infrastructure. Private Investments Italian clubs still heavily rely on investments made by private owners, although the amount invested remains limited relative to some other countries. However, there is now a growing trend of international inves - tors showing interest in acquiring Italian football clubs. More recently, this trend further developed with the involvement of professional investment funds as shareholders of major Italian football clubs and with the internationalisation of club ownership, where, for instance, half of the Serie A clubs are owned by for - eign entities.
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