ABSTRACT
Football is the most popular sport in Italy, with more than 44 million Italians interested in the game, 31 million who support a particular team, 9 million who regularly watch matches at stadiums, 20 million who read about football in newspapers and 25 million who follow football on television or radio. 1 It has been estimated that football generates aggregate revenue amounting to €6.272 billion (Campioli, 2010). The organisation of football in Italy is a sensitive issue which very often attracts prolonged attention and debate. Moreover, in Italy football is often interpreted as an element of national pride and identity. The national team has won the World Cup four times (second only to Brazil) and the Italian teams are second only to Spanish teams if considering the number of European cups won, and first if considering only the UEFA Champions Leagues after its inauguration in 1992.
