Francesco Calvo, Juventus’ Managing Director of Revenue & Football Development, shared insights on various topics at the SFS Football Summit in Riyadh. He emphasized the importance of football’s globalization and its impact on player development.
“The globalization of football is important for all players, competitions have increased to foster growth,” Calvo stated. He highlighted Juventus’ international expansion efforts, mentioning, “In 2019, we opened an office in Hong Kong to understand potential objectives in Asia, now it’s an office of eight people. We will do the same in Saudi Arabia, we believe that central investments and passion for football are here.”
Calvo expressed cautious optimism about their impact in new markets: “We don’t take for granted that we can have a positive impact, but we want to understand what it could be. We want to understand the possibilities of developing youth football, including through agreements with local clubs: the 2034 World Cup is tomorrow, and we want to understand, as European clubs and not just as Juventus, how much we can support the growth of football and the promotion of the World Cup.”
Addressing the role of football in Saudi Arabia, Calvo said, “What role can football play in a country like this? We don’t have all the answers we would like to have, but coming here and having the opportunity to talk to so many people these days is a crucial opportunity to understand what awaits us.”
Notably, Calvo emphasized the unity among Italian clubs off the field: “The unity of purpose in Italian football? Well, if on the field we compete to win, off the field we agree on many things, especially with Juventus and Inter. It’s a demonstration of growth in Italian football, we are happy with the election of the new president Simonelli. As Italian football, we slept for a few years, but we have woken up: we are achieving excellent results in Europe, but the issue is to work together to move forward.”
