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What is wrong with Serie A?

There are no Serie A teams in the Champions League quarter finals.   That, of course, could be for a variety of reasons related to individual clubs, but Serie A has gone from being one of the top European leagues to falling way behind the Premier League.

The Athletic argues: 'For too long whoever was president of the league has chosen to get lost in internal politics rather than commit to the job of growing the business in the way Richard Scudamore did for the Premier League, and Christian Seifert and Javier Tebas have done for the Bundesliga and La Liga respectively.'

'Even today, Serie A can’t agree on anything, whether it’s the next TV rights tender or the sale of a stake in an entertainment company to a private equity consortium for €1.7 billion. The league is its own worst enemy and its inability to reform itself is perhaps one of the reasons why Andrea Agnelli dedicates so much time to Europe instead.'

'Meanwhile, grounds continue to fall into disrepair and without privately-owned stadia, there’s only so much money that can be ploughed back into teams under Financial Fair Play regulations. This is where Serie A has really been left behind.'

It's quite a while now since I did a lot of work with Italians in Italy.   However, it struck me as a country that was beset by chronic governance failures and this could well extend to football.   Admittedly, there is an ability to 'muddle through' as shown by the formation of the Draghi government.  More fundamental reform, however, never occurs.


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