‘Italy Is Undervalued Relative To The Other Leagues’: U.S. Investors On Their Football Frenzy

“If you look at the value of Italian soccer clubs versus the value of other European leagues, right now I would say that Italy is undervalued relative to the other leagues, particularly given the potential, the history and the fanbase,” Aiello said. “I believe the American investors are looking at this asset as an undervalued asset.”

Lewis and Aiello are not surprised that Italian club executives have begun welcoming U.S. investors on their board, as they are convinced that this class of investors has the necessary business expertise to address some of the issues that are causing Italian soccer to lag behind other major European leagues.

“As the number of American owners increase their investments in Italy, I believe that some of the issues that the league has had in the past will get improved, because the professionality of the investors will demand that it gets improved,” Aiello said.

One of the reasons why Lewis and Aiello see Italian soccer as an undervalued asset relates to fan engagement. Unlike what they are used to experiencing in American sporting venues, they believe that soccer clubs in Italy are far from making the most of their incredibly passionate fanbase.

“We compare it to the American sports culture, which is more involved with entertainment for the fanbase that comes hours before the games and stays afterwards,” Lewis said. “If they (the fans) are going to have lunch somewhere before the game – where they are going to seek entertainment – why not do it at the stadium?”

Enhancing fan engagement, Lewis and Aiello explained, is one of their goals as the new Cesena FC presidents. As revealed by Deloitte’s survey The Stadium Experience, fan engagement is key to building fan loyalty, which in turn is responsible for boosting a soccer club’s proceeds from match-day ticketing and in-stadium purchases.

“It (fan engagement) brings revenue and that revenue helps support the solvency of the company, of the club,” Lewis concluded.

Lewis and Aiello, who are both proficient in Italian, started to look at Italian soccer teams more than a year ago. However, it wasn’t until September 2021 that they identified Cesena FC as an appealing investment opportunity, mentioning history and tradition as the two main factors that got them attracted to this club.

Last December, following three months of due diligence, they acquired 60% of the shares in Holding Cfc SpA, Cesena FC’s holding company. While some Italian media have estimated the transaction value to sit around €1.8 million ($2m), Lewis clarified that they have chosen not to publicly reveal those numbers.

They also explained that the deal allows them to take over the remaining chunk of the club’s shares over the next two years.

“There are financial mechanisms in there to allow us to purchase 100% within the next 24 months,” Lewis said.

Lewis, who spends most of his time in Italy, is in control of the day-to-day operations and intends to consistently remain “in touch with what’s going on with the finances.” Aiello, who travels back and forth between Italy and the U.S., has the job of overseeing the club’s strategy development.

“I would say that if this was an American company, Robert (Lewis) is the CEO of Cesena and I would be the chairman,” Aiello pointed out.

Exporting The Cesena Brand

Social media campaigns, marketing initiatives and merchandise sales are some of the strategies meant to grow the Cesena FC brand domestically and abroad. Above all, however, Lewis and Aiello intend to establish a strong connection between Cesena FC and U.S.-based youth soccer academies, leveraging the fact that this sport is becoming increasingly more popular among American kids.

“American talent is now being viewed by European clubs, and several players have been brought over,” Lewis said, mentioning UEFA Champions League winner Christian Pulisic of Chelsea as an example of an inspirational sports figure for young American soccer players. “That breeds interest in the youth that they too can now achieve the pinnacle of European football.”

Lewis and Aiello view youth soccer camps as a powerful tool to introduce the American audience to the Cesena FC name and gradually export the club’s brand outside the Italian boundaries.

“There’s a lot of opportunity to get younger children interested in the Cesena brand by doing summer camps,” Aiello said. “If you were a 10 year old and you got to play the Cesena summer camp, there’s a better chance that you’ll continue to follow the team as you get older because it’s something that you don’t really forget.”

Cesena FC currently sit third in the league with 16 games left in the 2021/22 Serie C season. For Lewis and Aiello, the goal of this season is to clinch the league playoffs, which give access to Serie B, Italy’s second tier of soccer.

While the new U.S. owners stress the importance of taking one step at a time, they don’t deny having the dream of seeing Cesena FC climb the Italian soccer ranks and return one day to the elite stage of Serie A, where the club last competed in the 2014/15 season.

Source: Forbes