Italy: sport represents €96bn in revenue (3.6% of GDP) and 389,000 jobs (Banca Ifis)

Sport generated €96bn in revenue, equivalent to 3.6% of Italian GDP, and employed around 389,000 people in 2019, i.e. before the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the research department of Banca Ifis (a bank headquartered in Venice, ITA) in its first "Observatory of the Italian Sport System" published with the support of CONI in Rome (ITA) on 30/03/2022.

The document was presented in the presence of Giovanni Malago, president of the Italian Olympic Committee, and Ernesto Fürstenberg Fassio, vice-president of Banca Ifis. The study was carried out in response to the European Commission's request to Member States "to measure the economic dimension of all components of sport and thus provide public and private decision-makers with the essential data and information to take strategic decisions."

"Since 2006, the European Union has recognised the significant contribution of sport to the economy, not only as a driver of growth and employment, but also for its positive effects on citizens' health, regional development, tourism and social integration," states the introduction of the…