ROME – The 20 Serie A clubs have met today, Monday 6 May, at 2pm to seek a common front against the plan to abolish the Covisoc (the club oversight commission) and replace it with an independent agency to monitor football and basketball accounts. The law, still in draft form, is desired by the Government and supported by the Minister for Sport and Youth, Andrea Abodi. Most of the Serie A clubs do not seem to appreciate the idea of having to bring the accounting books directly to Palazzo Chigi, passing the scrutiny of a technical but politically inspired (and appointed) commission, with all that entails. “We risk making a global impression“, said the president of Coni, Giovanni Malagò, in an interview with Repubblica. The number one in Italian sport is strongly against the new control body, a political appointee.
The government project
In three pages there is the rule that risks changing the balance between football and politics forever. The agency dedicated to the economic and financial supervision of professional clubs – A, B and C for football, but also A1 for basketball – will be a public body with “autonomous powers” and composed of a president and two members, appointed by Prime Minister Meloni or by Minister Abodi; they will remain in office for 4 years (without renewal) and will have another 30 employees with an annual budget of 2.5 million financed by the same clubs which will then be controlled, so as not to burden the citizens’ pockets. In the intentions of the Executive, the agency will have to replace Covisoc, which operates “at the Football Federation” and with members appointed by a qualified majority by the federal council, despite being a formally autonomous structure compared to the FIGC. The new body would issue the licenseswould ask for documents and clarifications also on subjects, would carry out checks, order inspections and could give – as it is written in the draft – binding opinions on registrations for the championships, while specifying to respect the authority of the federal council which today has the final say.
