Football: AC Milan could explore tours with first team in the region
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AC Milan's players celebrating their Serie A title triumph on May 22, 2022.
PHOTO: AFP
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SINGAPORE – AC Milan fans in Singapore can get up close and personal with club legend Daniele Massaro
No concrete plans have been set, but Milan marketing director Peter Morgan did not rule out the possibility of a tour in the region, especially as the club are eager to reconnect with international fans after the pandemic.
Milan won the 2021/22 Serie A title for the first time in 11 years
The tour had stops in New York and London and will be heading to Jakarta on Sunday, when Milan’s Serie A match against Fiorentina will be screened.
Morgan, 39, told The Straits Times: “With (borders) opening and after a few years without tour, we’re properly in a position to start taking the team away on tour.
“At this stage, we don’t know where we’ll be going but these fan activities are key.
“We can’t take the first team at the moment but what we can do is bring the trophy, (which represents) one of the most iconic moments of our club’s history for the past 10 years, and one of our ambassadors, Daniele Massaro, to engage with our fans.
“We saw huge celebrations in South-east Asia (when we won the title). This tour is a way to thank (all our international fans) for their support and for the club to give fans what they’ve been missing.”
This could pave the way for future visits to the region as the club are seeking to grow their fan base and increase their presence worldwide, and could consider things like tours by the first team or even opening another international office. Besides Milan, they also have an office in Shanghai.
This also comes as the Serie A chief executive Luigi de Siervo recently announced plans to triple its overseas media revenue.
Said Morgan: “If we see strong response, that makes it easy to decide whether to invest to come back to the region. We know how strong the fans are in Asia and if we can bring the trophy to them, we can create great moments for them.
“We’re in a period of commercial growth now. Our new owners (American investment firm RedBird Capital Partners) have bought us to grow us. There’s a desire to look at where we can drive growth, and international markets is one of those areas.
“At the moment, for fans worldwide, the future is more positive because we’ve invested in young, up-and-coming players, the commercial side of the business is growing and we’re in a position where we can make the most of that global fan base and grow it.”
The Briton acknowledged that the Italian league is behind the English Premier League, which has enjoyed continued success commercially, in areas like consistent high-level competition and stadium development but believes the Serie A is slowly catching up.
Pointing to AC Milan clinching the 2021/22 title on the last day of the season in May, he said: “When you have a competitive and strong league, that drives brand interest. A lot of clubs in Italy are working towards (new stadiums) and we’re behind the Premier League but progress is being made.
“There’s a lot of effort by Serie A and clubs to.... make this league exciting and easy to watch so fans around the world can get a taste of Italian football.
“I’m very much convinced if we can make the right commercial decisions and support the league, we’ve got a great chance to get Serie A and Milan back on top, where it should be.”
Diehard fan Lee Chern San will experience a full-circle moment when he attends Friday’s meet-and-greet; he previously met Massaro in 2008 during a Champions League trophy tour.
Lee, who has been a Rossoneri fan for 34 years, said: “It is a rare opportunity to see the Scudetto trophy in person. It has been a long wait (for the title).
“(The title) means so much more because nobody gave us a shot at the beginning of last season. I am so proud of what Milan have done, we overachieved in a massive way.”
