1.1 Market definition

Soccer clubs are defined as all professional clubs in Italy, which for simplicity will be treated as Serie A and Serie B clubs in the case of Italy. These clubs are distinguished by higher budgets, a preponderant role in the market window, and increasing TV rights that are exported beyond the Italian market.

The associations that deal internationally with the market are FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), which operates worldwide and involves 211 countries, and UEFA ( Union of European Football Associations), which operates at the European level and represents 55 clubs on the continent. UEFA is a Swiss flag association and is recognized by FIFA, the world governing body of soccer.

In Europe, the major clubs with the highest turnover are: Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Manchester United. The ranking of the top ten clubs sees the dominance of Spanish and English clubs monopolizing the top spots. The top Italian club is Juventus, with other international clubs such as AC Milan, FC Inter AS Roma, Atalanta BC, SS Lazio and SSC Napoli. Italian clubs accounted for 13 percent of all the estimated value of European clubs in 2021, behind England (39 percent), Spain (23 percent), and Germany (13 percent), but ahead of France (7 percent).

A four-time world champion, the Italian peninsula is home to many big clubs, and more than 350,000 Italians register for their favorite team's matches. However, the covid-19 pandemic has dealt a blow to clubs with temporary match suspensions and closed games that lasted for extended periods in 2020 and 2021. These closures resulted in reduced revenue for clubs, during the 2019-2020 Season, mainly from matches suspended in March due to the pandemic. However, interest in soccer remains intact and the return of fans to competitions is a key factor in market growth.

1.2 A growing global market

The global soccer market size reached $*.* billion in ****. It is expected that the market will reach $* billion by ****, with a compound annual growth rate (***) of * percent over the forecast period ****-****.

The growth factors that will drive the market are people's increasing participation in professional soccer tournaments and leagues, growing awareness ...

1.3 The market for soccer clubs in Italy

The top ** clubs generated a revenue value of *.* billion euros. The graph below shows the breakdown of revenue by club. For the first time, more than half of the top ** clubs (***) are presented by one country, namely England. This highlights the financial superiority represented by the Premier League, which has seen ...

1.4 The burden of coronavirus on calcium

The coronavirus crisis has affected all the world's soccer clubs equally. KPMG's **** report on the turnover of the ** largest European soccer clubs points out that in **** this figure decreased overall. In fact, in absolute terms, there was a decline of -** percent (***).

Revenues of the top ** European clubs Europe, ****-****, in ...

2.1 Demographic characteristics of fans

Gender

The data below show the percentage of men and women who follow soccer in Italy, with ** percent of men and ** percent of women being interested in soccer. These percentages indicate a gender gap in popularity and interest in the sport in Italy that depends on multiple factors, such as to ...

2.2 Determinants of demand

Fan Attitude

The data shown in the graph below are the result of a survey of *,*** Italians. Fifty-two percent of respondents said they feel part of a community and experience a sense of belonging through cheering for soccer. This highlights the social role of soccer in creating bonds and connections among ...

3.1 Market structure

The soccer club market in Italy is composed of a variety of players who play key roles within the soccer industry. First, there are the clubs that represent the core of the market and participate in different competitions based on the sporting performance of each club. Second, there are the organizations, ...

3.2 The soccer market

The soccer market is characterized by player disposals, purchases, and loans with exorbitant figures at times. In ****, for example, Juventus paid *** million for Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer to Serie A. Teams often acquire players through "free transfers." This is the case with Lionel Messi and Gianluigi Donnarumma, who were bought by PSG. ...

3.3 The Series A

Serie A is the top division of professional soccer in Italy and one of the Big Five leagues in Europe. Serie A matches are played between August and May, with ** teams competing in ** matches to win the Scudetto, the highest accolade in Italian soccer.

Juventus FC dominates Serie A, and has ...

4.1 Supply analysis

Women's soccer

Women's professional soccer is at the beginning of its journey, that is, at that stage where clubs are still making losses and investments are not sufficient. In fact, The vast majority of the clubs analyzed by Deloitte reported a loss in ****/**. The factors for success in women's soccer will ...

4.2 The prices

Season tickets

For the upcoming Serie A season, clubs have presented their season ticket prices. Milan set prices so that in the curves season tickets range from €*** to €*** depending on the ring of the stadium, instead, for the grandstand €*,***. Inter set prices for the curves from €*** for the third tier to ...

4.3 Operating costs

Taking Juventus' annual report as an example, it is possible to observe the operating cost items that the company and others incur to operate in the market, with different figures among the companies.

Source: ****

Juventus' operating costs Italy, ****-****, in millions of euros Source: ****

5.1 Current regulations

At the international level, theInternational Football Association Board sets the rules of the game of soccer each year. These rules must be adhered to by all FIFA-recognized teams, which then participate in a FIFA or UEFA competition.

The latest document published by the IFAB (***) updates the old regulations from ****/****. In fact, ...