Rome (AFP)

A first in Italian football: Serie A clubs, hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, on Thursday approved the entry of private investors into the new company responsible for increasing income from TV rights.

This agreement must result in the injection of some 1.7 billion euros for Serie A, whose accounts show record losses due to the coronavirus.

After having approved in September the creation of a company dedicated to the marketing and management of TV rights, the twenty Serie A clubs have approved "unanimously" the offer of a trio of private investors, including in particular the former treasurer of Formula 1 CVC, we learned from the Italian Football League.

This offer, approved at a general meeting in Rome, provides for the entry of the CVC-Advent-FSI trio up to 10% in the future company.

This unprecedented alliance with private investors was still contested by some clubs a few weeks ago.

But the expected 1.7 billion check from funds ended up extinguishing fears, while the vast majority of clubs are now in the red.

The coronavirus pandemic, and its economic consequences in terms of sponsorship, ticketing and financial effects on TV rights, has further accentuated the economic difficulties of Italian football, already in a precarious situation for several years.

© 2020 AFP