Italian Football Federation calls for lifting of gambling sponsorship ban

The Italian Football Federation has asked the government to lift Italy’s ban on gambling sponsorship to help clubs recover financially from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Italy.- The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has asked authorities to suspend the 2019 ban on gambling sponsorship in the sport to allow new money to flow into the body and clubs following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The FIGC wants the government to lift the ban for at least two years, with it potentially returning in June 2023.

FIGC president Gabriele Gravina said: “We are at a crossroads; we must act quickly to prevent the professional football crisis from obliging the clubs to stop their activity, thus bringing the entire sports sector to its knees along with the companies of the 12 product sectors connected to it and the entire national system, with an undesirable decrease in direct and indirect tax contributions.

“We [ask the government] to recognise the socio-economic importance that football has through the adoption of urgent measures to relieve the clubs from the crisis generated by Covid-19. Football can play a decisive role in Italy’s overall recovery.”