The boom of Italian volleyball between spectator records, funds and social strategies

Imoco Conegliano champion of Europe and Italy among women. Trentino Volleyball Italian champion among men (while Perugia will play for the continental title from 16 to 18 May). The 2024/25 season confirmed the excellence of the Italian clubs and championships on a sporting level, but it was also a record year on an economic level, with record attendance in the arenas and a TV audience that reached excellent levels. In the women's field, then, the League approved historic decisions with the aim of achieving radical changes in the management of media and marketing rights.

However, the tricolour clubs emphasise the need for a turnaround in terms of infrastructure. The financial support of the teams, in fact, remains tied to the generosity of the properties and the participation of sponsors, while the lack of modern arenas does not allow the enthusiasm surrounding Italian volleyball to be monetised in the best possible way. This is why the Leagues have asked the government for a concrete intervention that will lead in the next measure on sport not to limit the new commission procedure to stadiums or to recognise a tax credit for private individuals who invest their own resources in the construction of arenas or their renovation. As well as making permanent the tax credit on sponsorships, a form of defiscalisation approved during the pandemic and so far renewed year after year (at least 80/90 million euros would be needed this year).

These measures would allow companies to launch medium- to long-term industrial plans, enabling them to better exploit the volleyball product. On which, not by chance, the interest of private equity funds has been intensifying in recent years.

Meanwhile, the 2024/25 season of the SuperLega Credem Banca set an all-time record in terms of spectators with an average of 3,882 per match in the 26 playoff challenges (+7% compared to the previous season) and about 3,000 in the regular season (+11%, with a total revenue of 3.3 million). TV coverage was two SuperLega matches for each day broadcast on Rai Sport (7 on Rai 2) and another 2 on the streaming platform DAZN for a total of almost 300 hours between the two broadcasters, while VBTV (Volleyball World's streaming platform) aired all the matches. "I am very satisfied with the level reached by our clubs, which are improving their performances year after year, providing an undoubted contribution to the quality of the national team," said Massimo Righi, president of the Volleyball League Serie A. We aim to further improve the visibility and spectacle of the matches thanks to the interventions on the production, from lights to the sound system, that we will put in place as part of the synergy with Volleyball World, the company founded in 2021 between the World Federation and CVC Capital, of which the League is a partner. This was the first in the ten-year agreement that we have signed and which I am sure will contribute to enhancing the value of our tournament even more".

In the future, the men's league will focus even more on internationalisation. In fact, it is working on playing an event abroad, such as the Italian Super Cup, for which requests have arrived from Saudi Arabia and the Emirates.