Napoli president complains about lack of government help with football
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis believes Italian football ‘needs the state’ to help the industry move forward and keep up with their European rivals.
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Italian clubs have now mostly recovered following the COVID pandemic but are still dealing with the usual issues of football in the country, like sluggish bureaucracy and the difficulties of building new stadiums.
Serie A did well to send three representatives to the Champions League knock-out stages last season and many thought it was a sign of domestic growth, but some are concerned that it may have been a flash in the pan, difficult to replicate due to financial limitations.
Speaking at a press conference at the Casa del Cinema in Rome via TMW, De Laurentiis first commented on the work of Rudi Garcia’s Napoli this season.
“We’ve had a good start, but there is still much to work on. And Raspadori? Have you seen Raspadori in the national team? I liked him a lot.”
The Napoli president then discussed the need for common ground between politics and football in Italy, a topic he is no stranger to.
“The only one who really gave a hand to cinema was Minister Franceschini by setting up a fund, then darkness. In football it is the same: where is the state?
“Italian football does not need assistance, but it needs the state not to erode what such a valuable industry needs. Which must have freedom at its base, something they have never given us.”