ITALY Law and Practice Contributed by: Maurizio Marullo, Giorgio Vagnoni, Francesco Amoresano and Fausto Consolo, LAWP Studio legale e tributario
4.3 Funding of Sport Public Funding
provisions to non-professional clubs is debat - able, especially when they carry out commercial activities. Insolvency is also sanctioned by sports regula - tions. By way of example, the latest “National Licensing System 2025/2026” states that clubs must prove they have fulfilled several obliga - tions, including the payment of: • fees, training compensations and solidar - ity contributions 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 play - ers, coaches, members, employees, manag - ers, medical and technical staff, etc; and • VAT and other taxes and contributions (eg, IRAP, IRES etc). Failing that, insolvent clubs are excluded from competitions and their affiliation is revoked. Besides, under the FIGC NOIF, clubs that enter into debt restructuring procedures in business continuity are also subject to disciplinary conse - quences, and specifically a ban from registering new players for up to four transfer windows. If a club is declared insolvent by the judicial authority during the course of a sports season, to safeguard 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 (includ - ing trade marks, etc) will be subject to asset sale within the framework of a bidding procedure.
Italian governments are increasing sports fund - ing 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 Recovery Plan. In particular, specific funds have been allocated for the upgrade of public sports infrastructure and for the upgrade and/or construction of venues for the 2026 Win - ter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. The Sports and Culture Credit Institute The Sports and Culture Credit Institute ( Istituto per il Credito Sportivo e Culturale ) is “social bank for the sustainable development of sports and culture” , granting low-interest loans to public and private entities for the implementation of sports facilities, including funds to purchase real estate lots to be dedicated to the construction of sports infrastructure. Private Investments Italian clubs are still heavily relying on invest - ments made by private owners, although the amount invested is still limited relative to some other countries. However, there is now a growing trend of international investors showing interest in acquiring Italian football clubs. Funding for Federations Federations are funded by CONI/Sport e Salute S.p.A, among others. The amounts due to each federation are calculated as follows:
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