Luca Croatto is one of the alumni of the course in marketing and regulations of women's soccer organized by Sport Business Academy. Especially enthusiastic and satisfied from training course, decided to tell us about his experience with SBA and share his final project realized during the course.
"It was a very interesting course and all the topics covered were very useful to deepen my understanding of the dynamics around women's soccer. I was able to enrich my knowledge in the area of federal regulations, communications and contacts with the press, and in the area of marketing and image management of female soccer players.
All the lecturers expounded the topics covered in a very understandable way, tried to involve us and hear our opinions as well, all always in a very positive and constructive atmosphere, despite the many difficulties in which the world of women's soccer in Italy finds itself today.
We started by talking about Sports Law, a subject excellently expounded by Lawyer Vizzino, in which we were given an overview of the most important regulatory aspects inherent to the FIGC Regulations and those concerning Sports Justice. Tiziana Pikler, a journalist from LFootball, explained to us the duties and burdens of the Press Offices of the women´s and men´s soccer teams, all the dynamics related to communication, starting from Social Media up to the printed media. Finally, with Lawyer Orlandi of Assist&Partner Studio, we had the opportunity to take stock of the treatment of female soccer players in Italy and abroad, but also comparing their condition to that of their male colleagues."
The student continued by talking about his future aspirations and saying: "The motivation that prompted me to attend this course was to want to know and deepen all the dynamics of a world that concerns me very closely; my daughter, in fact, is a soccer player and has as her dream to get to play in the top league. My background and knowledge, as well as my experiences, lead me to see myself in a managerial role but more pertaining to the technical area, but in light of what I have learned, I do not exclude other tasks. Let's say that it would be very interesting and motivating to work at a high level, but the role in a minor club could hold some pleasant surprises."
In addition to meeting Luca Croatto, we want to present his work produced during the course. A paper entitled. "Women's soccer development project in Italy" whose Keywords main are available below.
Five key points (Keywords) for a project to develop women's soccer in Italy.
Project Overview by Luca Croatto
The growth prospects of this Movement, but also the difficulties for female soccer players to move from the Status of "Amateur to Professional Athletes," impose planning and guidelines to best plan the future of the sport.
Dedicated grassroots activities/schools/events.
First of all, grassroots sports should be increased, seeking to steadily increase the number of girls who will start playing soccer. Clubs, in agreement with the Scholastic Youth Sector, should begin to publicize and promote this sport on a large scale starting from elementary school through dedicated meetings organized in school facilities. Ad hoc mini Videoclips could be created, for example, to be spread on Social, illustrated brochures for families, in which the activity dedicated to young female athletes will be illustrated, emphasizing that the primary objectives will always be health and fun (multisport). The message should be to make people understand the prospects of soccer clubs, highlighting, as emerged in this study cycle, the potential for the development of women's soccer. To entice the girls to take this path, gift cards could be created for them that are valid for a period of training, for example, one month, at the sports facilities of the various soccer clubs, in which a free Kit consisting of T-shirts, shorts, socks and a ball with the Team's logo (involvement of brands linked to the area) is included.
Only by increasing the base number of female members can women's soccer in Italy make the quantum leap. Keep in mind that an average Italian family is composed of 2.7 members (Source ISTAT 2020), considering also the presence of only the closest family members, such as for example maternal and paternal grandparents, it comes to about 7 people: it is well understood that the catchment area that would come into contact with the world of women's soccer, would widen by quite a bit, being much more attractive to possible business partners.
Attractiveness/structures/cultural values
All that related to the first Keyword, will have to be supported by the provision of appropriate facilities for female soccer players, creating spaces dedicated to the needs of female athletes, such as suitable locker rooms and fields suitable for training and holding matches. In soccer clubs where there are also men's teams, it would be more useful to share sports facilities with the men, so as to strengthen the sense of belonging to the clubs themselves, and thus make the presence of women's teams "normal" for fans and enthusiasts as well, until the coveted goal of talking about one soccer is reached in the future! It will be necessary to create an environmental situation that will entice female soccer players to come and play at our club by providing them with everything they need (enjoyment of room and board in more than decent facilities, provision of means of getting to the playing fields, etc.), so that they can compensate for the inability to pay top club fees. This business philosophy could bring benefits in the search for business partners especially linked to the territory, highlighting the intention to develop the women's football movement always with an eye to frugality as far as management costs are concerned, focusing heavily on the values that distinguish female footballers: respect, maximum commitment lavished both in training and in the match and the "competitive purity," (allow me the expression) that women's soccer knows how to express.
Organization/structuring of companies
Creation of an organizational chart of insiders dedicated to women's soccer players, structured on the basis of men's clubs, with all the managerial, managerial and technical figures needed to make women's soccer as professional as possible. Of course, going down in category, the same criteria described above will have to be implemented: in clubs with limited financial capacity, one will also have to focus on local volunteerism, involving people, perhaps starting with the members of the athletes' family group (in this sense, my experience as a youth sector coach, taught me that involving parents creates a very positive climate of which the first beneficiaries are the boys themselves) giving people the opportunity to identify with the club of reference (close link with the territory, something that in Italy is still very much felt!).
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