Milan-Como in Perth, decision by 18 December, hypothesis club shareholders of Dazn

Will Serie A clubs be able to become minority shareholders of Dazn? The decision will be up to them individually. Or rather, each property will have to evaluate whether or not to seize this investment opportunity. This is what the president of the Lega Serie A, Ezio Simonelli, explained during the press conference on the sidelines of the League Assembly which was held yesterday, the last meeting with all twenty presidents of the Serie A clubs before the departure of the leaders of Via Rosellini for Saudi Arabia, where the Italian Super Cup will be played next week. “The individual teams must be convinced – explained Simonelli -. It is an important economic initiative which every president sees as an investor if he wants to subscribe to shares in Dazn. It is something that the broadcaster is offering as an opportunity, even on advantageous terms, to individual companies or their respective owners. To give an example: it will not be Milan as a football club but RedBird that will invest money. If they were to do it themselves, it would already be a good indicator of the quality of the investment”.

Ball to the clubs

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Essentially, the sports entertainment platform — which holds the domestic rights to Serie A in Italy until 2029 — made the proposal; now this will eventually have to be seized by the properties of the individual clubs who have the opportunity to become part, with minority shares, of the Dazn group at a global level. On the possibility that imbalances will be created due to the fact that some clubs decide to invest and others do not, Simonelli replied with confidence, exorcising any fear of possible conflicts of interest: “First of all it would be a question of a marginal presence and participation. I would therefore separate the investment from an influence that will never be there on the editorial choices – the clarification of the Lega president -. Years ago many presidents had shares in Fiat, but they certainly did not influence the choices of Juventus… It is a paradoxical example, but it is to explain that a minority shareholder does not have great grip”.

milan-como and the deadline

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The discussion then moved on to another hot topic of the moment: the venue of Milan-Como: “The possibility of the game being played in Perth has not disappeared, everything is ongoing, we have had favorable opinions from the FIGC, UEFA and the AFC (the Asian Confederation of which Australia is a part) which has given it but under two impracticable conditions… For us it is impossible to go there without our referees for example. However we have all the necessary opinions, so we have written to FIFA to the final one.” However, a deadline for the final decision has been set: “I will probably see Infantino in Doha on December 17th and if FIFA tells us there that the game cannot be played in Perth we will take note of it. It is an ongoing process but on the 18th, after that meeting, we will know whether the orientation is favorable or not. And at that time I will therefore be able to communicate whether it will be played in Australia or not. The possible alternative? No other hypotheses for now, we are still working on Perth. Then, of course, if on the 18th we will be aware that it will not be possible to play there and we will establish the best date and venue for that match.”

Time to take stock

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Another television theme: free-to-air matches. Will fans be able to watch Serie A free-to-air one day? “We’ll see it with the next tender. This was a possibility that was already there in the old tenders and it’s a proposal that could be proposed again. Who can disagree with showing our football to as many people as possible?”. This is a theme which therefore remains in the list of possible future goals while Simonelli took stock of his year as number one in the League, recalling how in this period “we have accomplished several things. We have also found unity of purpose with the FIGC and when there is harmony we work better”. Among the best objectives achieved: not considering Italians under 23 in the cost of extended labor, having consolidated relations with the Government and institutions, the meetings with the FIFA President Infantino and, on the subject of safety, the dialogues with the Chief of Police Vittorio Pisani, the Prefect Improta and the Prefect Parente and the Police Commissioner of Milan Migale.