The Political Economy of Football V2

Stories of precipitous decline are not unknown in Italian football and it should be noted that Serie B is not the equivalent of the Championship, nor is Serie C League One. Sampdoria (the other Genoa club) — the club with the storied past has edged out of the automatic relegation slots of Serie B and into the zone that would, come June, at least give them a play-off chance of avoiding an unprecedented drop into Italy’s third division. Sampdoria won the scudetto, the club’s only Italian league title, in 1991. A year later they reached the European Cup final at Wembley.    This was the clubs ‘golden era’, although some fans thought that it sacrificed some of its distinctive character. That peak Sampdoria coincided with Italy’s showing off that it had the world’s best league to a broadening global audience. Not least to a generation of British fans, whose most regular fix of live football on terrestrial television came in the 1990s from Channel 4’s Serie A coverage. ...

Private equity firms and other American investors are increasingly getting involved in Italian football, including stadium redevelopments and new builds.  The entry price is lower than in the UK and their interest is not confined to Serie A:  https://gfmag.com/capital-raising-corporate-finance/us-investors-swarm-italys-football-clubs-and-stadiums/

Whisper it quietly, but it looks like the ownership saga at Sampdoria might just be coming to an end, as the shareholders have approved an agreement for the takeover of the club by Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani and his partner Matteo Manfredi through Gestio Capital and Aser Holding. It is also expected that QSI, the owners of Paris Saint-Germain, will take a minority stake. The club had previously been involved in negotiations with Alessandro Barnaba and American investment firm Merlyn Partners, the owners of Lille, but their interest ultimately did not come to anything. However, it looks like the agreement came too late to make the payment of three month’s wages (around €13.5m) before the 30th May deadline, which was needed to avoid a four points penalty next season. After a terrible season, Sampdoria were already relegated to Serie B, but the fans had been concerned that their club might be declared bankrupt, which would have resulted in further demotion to the bottom of...