By Suramya Kaushik
BANGALORE (Reuters) – Serie A might consider India as a potential host for the Italian Super Cup, in an effort to broaden the tournament’s global audience, the Italian league’s commercial and marketing director Michele Ciccarese has said.
The Italian Super Cup, which is played between the winners and the runners-up of the previous season’s Serie A and Coppa Italia, was hosted in Saudi Arabia in January where AC Milan defeated Inter Milan 3-2 to win the trophy for the eighth time.
When asked about India’s potential to host the Super Cup, Ciccarese confirmed that it aligned with the league’s strategy.
“What we do is to bring our international trophy like the Super Cup in all over the world, for a simple reason, to engage a wider audience and bring the best of that culture,” Ciccarese said during the RCB Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit.
“So, that’s exactly what we might do, and take the conversation forward to … come here and play in India.”
India’s bid to host the 2036 Olympics is an attempt to position the country as a global sports hub.
Ciccarese suggested that the influence of the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket competition could promote the country and bring attention to the achievements of other sports, drawing parallels with the “Made in Italy” project.
“Made in Italy is how we engaged with all the 20 Serie A clubs, and each club provides one of the important players to promote, not only the city, but the clubs, the territory, the production chain and everything that is around that club,” he said.
“That’s exactly what we are suggesting, or maybe potentially to create a cross-market activation with the IPL together in order to help grow the grassroots, to have the right presence in the 2036 Olympics for Indian football.”
(Reporting by Suramya Kaushik in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)
