Italian football's Serie A has lost more than €500m ($573m) in revenues due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the league's chief executive Luigi De Siervo has said, reports SportBusiness.
The league's three main revenue streams – tickets, sponsorship and media rights – had all been affected, De Siervo said, speaking to Italian public broadcaster Rai. He said, "The whole system is on the verge of collapse."
De Siervo called on the government to allow teams to admit more spectators to stadiums – the current cap is 1,000 per match. The chief executive said stadiums open up to 25-per-cent capacity should be considered.
Sky Sports Italy reported that he said, "Football does not want privileged treatments compared to the rest of the country, but it also does not want to be disadvantaged. In the stadium there are large open spaces, we can distance people."
Reuters reported that matchday revenues account for about 11 per cent of the league's total €2.5bn annual revenues. The majority of revenues come from the sale of media rights.