The curtain has officially risen on the ninth edition of SFS, the most anticipated event for national and international Football Industry stakeholders and leaders. Hosted within the extraordinary setting of the Allianz Stadium in Turin, the two-day summit kicked off before a packed auditorium of attendees, sports institution representatives, top executives, and global partners.
Opening the proceedings on the Engagement Stage by GoProject was Gianfilippo Valentini, Founder & CEO of SFS, introduced by Sky Sport journalist Marina Presello alongside Luigi De Siervo, CEO of Lega Calcio Serie A, and Ivan Ortenzi, Director of SFS.
In his opening address, Valentini emphasized the summit's consistent growth and strategic positioning over recent years, noting how every year the team works to take a step forward and offer the sports industry an increasingly authoritative, dynamic, and international platform for discussion, as proven by the four thousand attendees present.
He added that hosted at the Allianz Stadium, the event reflects the evolution of a project launched years ago, which has now become an essential hub for setting the guidelines for the future of football and the broader sports industry.
The Founder & CEO expressed sincere appreciation to sports institutions, beginning with Lega Calcio Serie A and CEO Luigi De Siervo, whose steady support played a decisive role in expanding the summit's global audience.
Special thanks were also extended to Juventus and the stadium management for their warm welcome and strategic collaboration in making the event possible. Valentini further highlighted the international dimension of the SFS brand, reinforced by its Global Partnership with Lega Calcio Serie A and the SFS Snack traveling format, designed to bring discussions on key industry topics to a global scale.
Taking the stage next, Luigi De Siervo reaffirmed the ambition to actively serve the football industry, extending his gratitude to presidents Ezio Maria Simonelli and Paolo Bedin, alongside the representatives of forty clubs present. He revealed that a memorandum was signed during the event to establish a concrete partnership heading into the upcoming tenth anniversary, confirming SFS as a benchmark and a key catalyst for corporate, political, and sports stakeholders.
The opening session highlighted key upcoming program milestones, including the working committees of Lega Calcio Serie A and Lega B, as well as the SFS ExtraTime Startup Competition featuring top innovative companies whose winners will be crowned during the celebrated SFS Awards night at the magnificent Reggia di Venaria.
In closing, Ivan Ortenzi underlined the core conceptual pillars guiding this ninth edition: performance-applied technology, environmental and economic sustainability, social inclusion, sports culture and icons, and digital transformation. With best wishes for a productive summit shared by the GoProject, SFS, and Social Media Soccer teams, SFS 26 is officially underway to shape the future of sports business.