From Euro 2032 to the America’s Cup: what’s new in the Sports Decree on major events

The team supporting the special commissioner for Euro 2032, Massimo Sessa, is being expanded in order to further speed up work on the stadiums set to host the football tournament organised jointly with Turkey. But that’s not all. The scope of those eligible for tax incentives linked to the America’s Cup – the world’s most important sailing competition, due to take place in Naples in 2027 – is being extended. Finally, the Mediterranean Games in Taranto have been allocated a further 15 million. These are some of the new measures contained in the Sports Decree approved by the Council of Ministers. The decree addresses a range of areas: from major international events to the governance of the sports system, including women’s football and the funding of events scheduled for the coming years.

The first, in fact, concerns the 2032 European Championships, which are receiving increasing attention from the Minister for Sport, Andrea Abodi, at a time when Italian football is failing to bring joy to the fans. As mentioned, the team is being expanded to support Sessa, who in the last few hours has issued the first decree halving the red tape involved in the construction of Rome’s new stadium at Pietralata. The commissioner will now be able to call upon the assistance of external consultants, an administrative or accounting magistrate, and staff seconded from state-owned companies. Furthermore, the text provides for the possibility of appointing the presidents of the regions affected by the projects as deputy commissioners.

Let’s turn our attention to sailing, and specifically to the America’s Cup. This is because the decree – according to the initial drafts that have circulated – aims to broaden the scope of those eligible for tax relief, as also highlighted in the final press release from the Council of Ministers. The first package of measures was introduced via the March tax decree (which became law in May). The measure provided that legal entities with their registered office in Italia, established in 2026 by the organising body or by the participating teams, would be ‘exempt from corporation tax (IRES, ed.) and regional tax on productive activities (IRAP, ed.) for activities carried out in accordance with their institutional purposes during the period from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027’.

Now, with the first drafts of the decree, the scope has been broadened to include companies linked to the organisation and established in any year (the reference to ‘2026’ has, in fact, been omitted). In practice, all companies set up by the organising body or by the participating teams, regardless of the year of incorporation, will be exempt from IRES and IRAP for activities carried out in accordance with their institutional purposes during the period from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027, provided that such activities are directly and exclusively related to participation in the event. The same favourable treatment also applies to permanent establishments set up in Italia for the duration of the event by the organising body or the participating teams: following the introduction of the Sports Decree, the reference to 2026 alone as the year of establishment has also been removed in this case.

There is also a further change for individuals. The previous text read: ‘Income from employment, income treated as employment income and income from self-employment received in the years 2026 and 2027 by persons not resident in the territory of the State’ and involved in the organisation of the America’s Cup ‘shall not form part of taxable income for the purposes of personal income tax and shall not be subject to withholding tax or advance tax, nor to substitute taxes on income’. Now, the beneficiaries will also include those who are ‘tax residents in Italia’.