Serie A chief blames illegal streaming for Italy’s decline

MILAN – Serie A chief executive officer Luigi de Siervo has pointed to illegal streaming and the resulting lack of TV revenue as a factor behind Italy’s struggles to nurture homegrown talent, as the Azzurri strive to return to the World Cup Finals for the first time since 2014.

Once a permanent fixture at the World Cup, four-time world champions Italy find themselves in dire straits, having missed out on the last two editions. Their quest to end that run got off to a poor start after a comprehensive 3-0 loss to Norway in their opening qualifier for the 2026 World Cup.

They bounced back with a 2-0 win over lowly Moldova, but lie in third in Group I on three points after two games. The Norwegians lead the way with a perfect 12 points from four matches, while Israel are second with six points from three games. Only the top team qualifies automatically.

Italian authorities recently intensified efforts to counter online piracy, which is costing billions of euros to broadcasters and sports leagues globally, as they try to protect the value of their broadcast rights.

TV rights make up the bulk of revenue for Serie A teams and de Siervo said “there is still a mountain to climb” after they lost €300 million (S$443.2 million) in revenue in 2024.

“Many question why our national team is in this situation and why there is a lack of talent, one reason being the losses due to piracy,” de Siervo said at an event on the fight against piracy.

“All the money that is lost every year is not invested in the youth teams and in the growth of our young players, a major issue that has led our national team to face many difficulties.

“In addition to this, the age-old facilities do not allow the clubs and the system to obtain high revenues. This has to be changed and this law goes in the right direction.”

De Siervo also said if they continue to lose revenue, Italy and the Serie A could tumble down Uefa’s coefficient rankings.

“We are already far behind the Premier League and the Spanish La Liga,” he added.

“If we continue like this, we will finish behind the Germans and we will end up being at the bottom of the table (of Europe’s top five leagues) together with the French.”

In other news, hardcore supporters of Serie A giants Inter Milan and AC Milan were sentenced to up to 10 years in prison on June 17 for a range of crimes, including criminal conspiracy and murder, following a probe into illegal activities of so-called “ultra” groups.

All 16 people standing trial for a variety of offences, in a fast-track procedure which began in March, were found guilty and handed sentences which added up to 90 years.

The crimes broadly involved activities around the iconic San Siro stadium on matchdays, from ticket touting to control of parking, sales from concession stands and taking payment from people without tickets and letting them into the stadium. REUTERS, AFP