Inside The New World Of Italian Soccer Tourism

Forbes

5 hours ago

Italian soccer is undergoing a significant transformation. Not only are club owners championing the integration of Italy's natural beauty and culinary culture into the match-day experience, but Serie A is also leading the race to export league games abroad, with plans to send Milan and Como to Australia as early as 2026.
But exporting matches to the other side of the world is just the cherry on the cake. Crucially, Calcio must reinvent itself on home soil if it wants to maintain its position among world elites.
For far too long, Serie A had remained overly reliant on past glories to preserve its prestige as its European rivals caught up and surpassed them.
Milan's players celebrate with trophy after they won the 1994 UEFA Champions League final against FC ... More Barcelona 4-0. (Photo by Christian Liewig/TempSport/Corbis via Getty Images)
However, thanks to an infusion of new faces and a change in attitude, the superiority complex that once accelerated Italian soccer's decline has finally given way to the acceptance that change must occur from within.
Finally, there seems to be room for fresh ideas. The denial, anger, depression, and bargaining stages appear to be over, and the acceptance that Italy is no longer at the top of world soccer is key for the league to rise back to the top, a sentiment shared by Serie A North America CEO Andy Mitchell.
'What I want to make sure of is that we get ahead of our continental European competitors,' Mitchell told me earlier this year.
'I believe that Serie A should absolutely be the most popular continental European league in the US. And that's really what our goal is.'
Apart from the MLS, there is no denying that the Premier League owns the lion's share of viewership in the US. Still, Italian soccer is making inroads through broadcasters like CBS and Paramount Plus for Serie A and Destination Calcio for Serie B. Even Serie C, the third division, is available to stream via FIFA+.
In March, Serie A confirmed unprecedented growth in North America, but the increase in interest will take time to convert into income for club owners.
In fact, the international rights value of Serie A has declined from $428M per season (2018-2021) to $288M per season for the 2024-2029 cycle, with the league unable to recuperate these losses through domestic broadcasting deals with DAZN and Sky who are collectively paying $50M less per year than they were a decade ago.
Problem, reaction, solution
With limited money to share between clubs, ownership groups are exploring formulas that may mitigate losses and generate financial sustainability - spending money to make money, if you will.
Roma, Milan, Juventus, and Inter have steadily expanded their fan bases abroad through summer world tours. The latter pair is currently competing in the FIFA Club World Cup in cities such as Pasadena and Washington, with Juventus winning over President Donald Trump during a meet-and-greet in the Oval Office.
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 18: U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks as he hosts Juventus FC, an ... More Italian professional soccer team in the Oval Office at the White House on June 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. The U.S. is hosting the FIFA Club World Cup, an international soccer tournament organized by FIFA featuring club teams from around the world. (Photo by)
While things are marginally improving in foreign markets, it's in Italy where opportunity knocks for those smart enough to build new revenue streams around international tourism expenditure, a sector that accounts for 13% of the Italian GDP.
Tourism in Italy is exploding
Italy has maintained its place among the top five most-visited nations in the world, with 64.5 million visitors in 2024, roughly 15 million fewer than the United States (in third place).
Europe remains the highest-performing region in the World Economic Forum's Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI), an indicator of all factors and policies enabling the sustainable and resilient development of the tourism sector, which in turn contributes to a country's overall development.
It's here in Italy's $60B per year travel and tourism sector where one club, in particular, is looking to increase revenue streams independent of the dramas surrounding broadcasting income and match ticket sales.
Within a month of establishing themselves in the top half of Serie A in their comeback season, Como has launched SENT Tourism, a tour operator that aims to marry Italian match-day and lifestyle experiences.
'Our goal is to position Como 1907 as the heartbeat of luxury football travel,' said Mirwan Suwarso, President of Como 1907. 'We're not just hosting fans, we're inviting the world to live football through the lens of Como: stylish, soulful, and uniquely Italian.'
UNSPECIFIED - AUGUST 01: Aerial view of Como on Lake Como or Lario - Lombardy Region, Italy (Photo ... More)
SENT Tourism clientele will gain VIP access to Como matches, player meet-and-greets, private seaplane excursions and cultural tours. Como will also host the first edition of the Como Cup, a tournament also featuring Ajax, Celtic, and Al Ahli, scheduled for July.
Accompanying DJ sets and food prepared by Michelin-star chefs and local restaurants will elevate the mini-tournament, along with exhibitions, late-night lounges, and fashion pop-ups. Events like these will attract an affluent international audience seeking more than just the two hours of entertainment that a regular day out at the soccer provides.
The Como ownership group clearly aim to fill the luxury sport-tourism hole in the market. With 2026 on the horizon, SENT Tourism is also offering stays in Milan and Cortina for the Winter Olympics, an event that Lega Serie A considers an opportunity to expand its reach to foreign shores.
With the Opening Ceremony for the Winter Olympics scheduled to take place at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza during the Serie A season, and with home team AC Milan needing to find a temporary new home, a proposal has been tabled that could export a first-ever top-flight soccer match abroad as Australian sports promoters look to bring the Rossoneri to Perth. And Como are favourites to join them.
MILAN, ITALY - MARCH 15: Christian Pulisic of AC Milan in action during the Serie A match between AC ... More Milan and Como at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on March 15, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Giuseppe Cottini/AC Milan via Getty Images)
For a club that competed in Serie D - the Italian fourth division - just six years ago, Como's impact is unmatched when it comes to innovation inside the Italian soccer ecosystem.
Barriers are indeed being broken. With an eye on the future, stadium rejuvenation of the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia could be next for the Lariani.
As Italy prepares for Euro 2032 co-hosting duties with Turkey, the country must nominate five stadiums and cities by October 2026. And with uncertainty surrounding plans for new stadiums in Rome, Milan, Cagliari and Naples, Como's ambitious plan to rebuild the Sinigaglia in 2028 could prove a masterstroke for the lakeside town.
Casa mia, casa tua
Foreign investment is the undisputed driving force behind change in Italian soccer. While fans have been crying out for improvements for years, the vast majority of clubs have so far lacked the means to make a significant dent, leaving many teams and stadiums in a state of bankruptcy or disrepair.
Over the past decade, though, multiple acquisitions by overseas entities have brought a global mindset with them. When the 2025-26 season begins in August, for the second consecutive year, only nine of the 20 top-flight clubs will be owned by Italian natives—a trend that is most likely to continue growing.
As GDP continues to decline in so many sectors, and with the brain drain of educated young Italians between the ages of 25 and 34 seeking greener pastures abroad, this is form of foreign immigration which sparks much less controversy on the peninsula.
Indeed, there is money to be made and jobs to be created. Is this the beginning of a new dawn for Italian soccer?