Volkswagen Italia, the automotive giant’s Italian subsidiary, has renewed its role as a commercial partner of the Italian soccer’s Italian Football Federation (FIGC) governing body, until 2026.
The deal, which originally began in 2023, will now continue to cover the men's, women's, futsal, beach soccer, and e-sports teams.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The partnership, which is being used to promote the automotive giant’s eHybrid plug-in hybrid range, made its debut last week during the Nations League Quarter Finals matches between Italy and Germany on March 20 and 23.
Andrea Alessi, director of Volkswagen Italia, said: “We are happy to renew the agreement with the FIGC, confirming Volkswagen's commitment to football, in Italy but also internationally.”
Volkswagen Italia was the official mobility partner of the Italian National Team during the men's FIFA 2006 World Cup win in Germany, while Volkswagen was the automotive partner of the European Championship in 2021 when Italy won the UEFA European Championships in England.
Elsewhere in Italian soccer, beleaguered giants Juventus have stated that they may need more money to steady their finances following the early dismissal of manager Thiago Motta, replacing him with former player Igor Tudor for the rest of the season.
This is in addition to their top shareholders, the Agnelli family, who have controlled the club since 1923, agreeing to provide €15 million ($16 million) to the club via their Exor holding company against a potential future new share issue.
The Agnelli family has been forced to raise around €900 million from its shareholders over the past six years.
Motta’s dismissal follows two consecutive heavy defeats which leaves the club in a disappointing fifth place in Serie A.
Said disappointing results and the dismissal have led the club to reassess its financial results for this quarter and the next, as well as its prospects for the 2025-26 financial year, which runs from July 1 to June 30.
The club has said that its overall targets through 2027 still stand, however it will need a cash injection ranging from €15 million to as much as 10% of the club’s market value. Juventus was worth €1.14 billion at March 28’s closing price, making 10% €114 million.
A final decision will be taken following the conclusion of the current season in May, and the summer transfer campaign at the end of August.
Juventus had made a rare profit in the first half of this fiscal year, thanks largely to its return to Europe's lucrative Champions League, however the club does not expect a profit for the full year.
This comes following a loss of €199.2 million ($223 million) for the 2023-24 financial year, a significant increase in loss from the prior year’s €123.7 million loss, itself following the club posting a loss of €254 million in 2021-22, which set a top-flight Serie A record.
Juventus were not involved in Europe last season after they were found guilty of false accounting and market manipulation and received a 10-point deduction in the 2022-23 campaign.
The club denied any wrongdoing and said its accounting was in line with industry standards.
Amid the investigation into the club’s finances and accounting procedures, Juventus's full board of directors resigned in November 2022, including president Andrea Agnelli and vice president Pavel Nedved.
