The president of Fitp at the Ambrosetti Forum: “This elite configuration allows our sport to become increasingly popular. We show it clearly on Supertennis and we have brought it to the chests of all of Italy. Football? We are ever closer, we aim to overtake”
Direct like no one ever. But if you have the patience to listen carefully to the president of Fitp Angelo Binaghi, going beyond certain words which in this world of respectable people risk being not very politically correct, you will intercept a clear and absolutely appreciable vision of the present and future of tennis. At the “Forum Osservatorio Valore Sport” conference, organized by The European House – Ambrosetti at the CONI Hall of Honour, Binaghi is sitting next to the president of the Lega Serie A Ezio Simonelli.
the “high spenders”
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And his speech starts precisely from the comparison with the world of football… “Football has over 21 million fans, tennis is constantly growing and now has something more than 19 million. It means that, although football is the most followed sport in Italy, the two sizes are starting to be comparable and it is clear that we are aiming to overtake, have you ever heard someone aiming for relegation? But unlike football, which has huge facilities and events spread over almost the whole year, we have to choose the type of user who can come and see the big tennis matches. How? By raising the price of the ticket, the public has also become more educated and the development of the game is less turbulent.” And here political correctness takes a leap. But it’s worth moving forward. “This elitist configuration allows tennis to become increasingly popular. It’s not just about seeing Sinner at the Forum, but also about promotion, knowledge of the sport and practice. With the ‘high spenders’ we are able to give tennis free to all Italians, every day of the year with our Supertennis channel. And then there is the Rackets in the classroom project, which in 2024 allowed us to teach tennis to 813,000 children.” A sort of Robin Hood of tennis, in short.
growing demand
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The president continues: “Now there is a deficit between the supply of facilities and the growing demand. With the Institute for Sports and Cultural Credit we have studied a tool – unique in Italy – which allows clubs that need it to be able to borrow money without any interest or expense. Everyone wants to follow tennis, everyone wants to practice it, the problem is that there aren’t the conditions to satisfy them at the moment.”
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