At SFS 26, on the Engagement Stage by Goproject, SportMediaset journalist Monica Bertini moderated the panel entitled “90 Minutes Are No Longer Enough.”
The guests included Michele Ciccarese, Commercial & Marketing Director of Lega Calcio Serie A; Nino Ragosta, Founder of FANTACALCIO; Emiliano Garofalo, Country Manager Italy at Haier Europe Group; Francesco Furlan, Marketing Director at Volkswagen; and Luisella Fusco, Media, Broadcast & Digital Operations Director at Lega Calcio Serie A.
The discussion focused on a new way of experiencing football and, more specifically, Serie A, through partnerships and initiatives designed to bring younger generations closer to the modern game.
Michele Ciccarese opened the discussion, addressing the evolution of contemporary football: “Football today goes far beyond the 90 minutes of a match. You either get young people to the stadium or they are unlikely to watch an entire game. To connect with these new generations, we have decided to broaden our horizons through new forms of interaction.”
Staying with the Lega Calcio Serie A representatives, Luisella Fusco then took the floor: “We are always looking for new and unique camera angles on the pitch. With this in mind, we created the Haier Cam, an interactive camera mounted on the referee’s chest, offering a live perspective from the referee’s point of view. We have carried out an enormous amount of operational work because, as you can imagine, developing a proper camera to be worn by someone who has to run back and forth for 90 minutes is no easy task. We worked closely with the Italian Referees Association (AIA), developing an innovative technology that has proved successful and is now among the content generating the highest number of views.”
Speaking about the Haier Cam, it was only natural to involve Haier’s Country Manager, Emiliano Garofalo: “For us, developing this new technology was almost fun. In some ways, it draws on areas we are already familiar with, such as the cameras integrated into our household appliances. With the Haier Cam, we created an experience that goes beyond the 90 minutes of a match and continues throughout the week, with viral videos reaching millions of views. The Haier Cam is a perfect example of modern content: it goes beyond the match itself and appeals to a very young audience, giving new generations the chance to become protagonists.”
Returning to the topic of partnerships, Nino Ragosta, Founder of FANTACALCIO, was invited to share his perspective: “We have 3 million Fantasy Football players every week. 50% of young people under the age of 35 play Fantasy Football, and when we extend the figure to all Italian men, the percentage stands at 33%. These are remarkable numbers, showing how a game that runs alongside football has become essential for building relationships and communities in bars, workplaces and everywhere else. We have a proposal: the Fantasy Football manager with the highest score could present the Player of the Month award. Just imagine the experience this person could have, getting to present an award to a Serie A player while also being recognised themselves as Fantasy Football Manager of the Month.”
Francesco Furlan, Volkswagen’s Marketing Director, then addressed the topic of the brand’s sponsorship of Fantacalcio: “We have been investing in football for 25 years and we want to see it constantly evolving. To achieve this, we need to invest in younger generations, and what better way to do so than through Fantacalcio?”
Luisella Fusco then took the floor again, suggesting a possible new initiative: “For example, we could give Fantasy Football managers, who are also the same people watching the matches, the opportunity to vote on players’ performances. This would further increase audience interaction while also providing us with additional data to monitor users.”
90 minutes are no longer enough, but those very 90 minutes are what fuel everything that comes afterwards.