Italian Fans to Fight against Soccer as Business

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, July 20, 2002

Italian Fans to Fight against Soccer as Business

Italian soccer fans are ready to organize protests and even go on strike unless their sport throws off the shackles of big business, according to a new survey by market research company Meta.

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Italian soccer fans are ready to organize protests and even go on strike unless their sport throws off the shackles of big business, according to a new survey by market research company Meta.

Asked what sort of a state the nation's favorite sport was in, two thirds of the soccer fans interviewed said it was "in a bad way" or "falling to pieces."

The fans, drawn from 75 of the country's top fan clubs, complained bitterly about the size of star players' salaries and railed against the power of sponsors.

They said clubs didn't consult them enough and manipulated their attachment to a team for business purposes, spending money on expensive foreign stars instead of home-grown talent.

"What emerges is an appeal for greater rigor on the part of clubs and players, so that soccer can be really democratic," said Meta Chairman Saro Trovato.

The solutions proposed to help soccer out of the money spiral included capping players' salaries, investing more in club nurseries and tighter controls on all clubs' practices.

If none of this were to happen, 29 percent of the interviewees said they would refuse to buy their season tickets or pay-TV subscription. Some 21 percent said they were ready to go on protest marches and 18 percent said they would hold a fans' strikein the stadium.

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