After the long setback caused by the pandemic, the availability of new financial resources with the PNRR and the organisation of major events in Italy, such as the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, can bring sport and its role as a driving force of recovery back to centre stage. The 2022 edition of the Leonardo Committee Forum is dedicated to the role and potential of the sports sector and its relations with the country's various production sectors. This is the event that annually brings together representatives from institutions and the business community to take stock of the development prospects for Made in Italy companies.

The Forum, organised in cooperation with ICE Agenzia, Confindustria and CONI at the headquarters of the National Olympic Committee in Rome, was attended by Leonardo Committee President Luisa Todini, ICE Agenzia President Carlo Ferro, Confindustria Vice President Barbara Beltrame Giacomello, and CONI President Giovanni Malagò. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Luigi Di Maio, closed the proceedings.

Other speakers included Nerio Alessandri (Technogym), Lavinia Biagiotti (Biagiotti Group), Maria Criscuolo (Confindustria Sport and Major Events Technical Committee), Antonio Marano (Milan-Cortina 2026 Foundation) and Maurizio Stroppiana (Mondo).
Professor Stefano Manzocchi, Research Vice-Chancellor of Luiss University, presented the 'Sport and Enterprise: a winning partnership' study, carried out for the Leonardo Committee by the University named after Guido Carli, with an analysis of the tangible and intangible benefits that the sports sector generates for the national economy and an assessment of the economic impact of a major event such as the next Winter Olympics in Milan - Cortina 2026.

Like very few other institutions, CONI remembers and weaves the history of our country,' said Malagò as he greeted the speakers. I am proud to host the Leonardo Committee, which represents the excellence of the country's businesses, and we are happy to be part of this. 

'The entire sports industry accounts for 1.5% of GDP with 26,000 companies and over 200,000 employees working in the various sectors: this is the added value index, the strong point of Italian exports,' said Luisa Todini, President of the Leonardo Committee. 'Made in Italy expresses true excellence in the production of sports goods with companies that have established themselves on foreign markets thanks to a very high level of quality, design and technology. The resumption of major sporting events, celebrated with the many victories of our extraordinary athletes, is a tangible sign of a country that is stepping up and winning. Sport and its industry enhance and improve communities and territories by creating a driver of economic and social wellbeing with a focus on the development of digital technologies and environmental protection and sustainability. Today we are at our second appointment with CONI, aided by a comprehensive guide drawn up by Luiss with the aim of drawing up a balance sheet but, above all, to indicate the pathways to be worked on in order to make the best use of and coordinate the PNRR resources. Sport and Business together to boost our economy and make us feel good'.

"2021 was the year of sport restarting after the pandemic, a year of rebirth that saw the success of Italian athletes around the world. Sport is a sector that represents a fundamental piece of civil, social and economic recovery,' said Barbara Beltrame Giacomello, Vice President for Internationalisation of Confindustria. "What has not been in the spotlight is that the sport is always supported by a very dynamic industry, capable of generating growth and exporting the Italian model abroad, through products that are symbols of Made in Italy. Our sports items are characterised by excellence in terms of design, attention to detail, quality of materials and workmanship. Quality, therefore, is the key to standing out in an increasingly competitive environment and is what defends our goods against tough competition from our competitors'.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Luigi Di Maio, said "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been following the dynamics of the sports sector within the framework of the national economy with increasing attention, especially since it took over responsibility for foreign trade and placed innovation, digitalisation and export quality at the core of its strategy to support the internationalisation of Italian companies. This is why, together with ICE, we wanted to capitalise on the major international sporting events, such as the Imola Grand Prix, Serie A football and the Giro d'Italia, and use them as platforms to promote our country and Italian excellence. Targeted, coordinated and systematic promotion of Made in Italy is a key factor for the positioning of companies on foreign markets: Italian sport, by bringing together different production chains, makes a fundamental contribution to the achievement of this goal”.

Luiss Research Vice-Chancellor Stefano Manzocchi commented "Our research shows how sport, in addition to being a strategic industrial sector for the national economy (with more than 15 thousand companies in the sports facilities and activities management sector, a direct turnover of more than €4 billion and almost 40 thousand workers employed), is a driving force for the production and export of sports articles and equipment, which have recorded significant results in recent years. Therefore, sport and business is a winning partnership. Sport plays a very important social role, generating significant intangible positive effects for the national economy, such as improving the psychophysical well-being of the population and social cohesion, reducing health expenditure, promoting the territory and tourism, and contributing in many ways to the achievement of the UN 2030 Agenda's sustainable development goals”.

The report shows how, over the last decade, the average number of Italians practising sport continuously has increased (from 22.8 per cent in 2010 to 27.1 per cent in 2020) but still remains below the EU average. However, the share of 'sporty' Italian citizens is still characterised by a persistent gender gap, with higher sports participation rates for males in almost all age groups.

Another important aspect that emerges from the study is the role that sport has always played in urban regeneration in our country and the significant contribution made to the tourism industry through sports tourism. In 2020, when global revenues from international tourism fell by 64% due to the pandemic, the sports tourism market showed greater resilience, while the number of Italians practising sport on holiday almost doubled, from 18% in summer 2019 to 32% in 2020, with important economic spin-offs for the territories.

It is also emphasised that sport is one of the sectors that has been able to more readily grasp the opportunities offered by the digital economy and the acceleration imparted by the health crisis, through the adoption of digital tools to simplify legal and regulatory obligations, make organisational activities more efficient, manage access to sports facilities, schedule competitions and training sessions, and with the spread of new hybrid or 'phygital' sports event formats. At the same time, the health emergency has brought to light pre-existing criticalities in the sector and highlighted the need for an organic reform of the sector, creating adequate institutional infrastructures and a clear and coordinated policy plan to facilitate the sector's restart and development.
In light of its social and economic importance, the PNRR has in fact earmarked €1 billion for the sports sector to finance two investment lines for the period 2021-26, which concern the upgrading of sports infrastructure in schools (€300 million) and the creation of sports facilities and equipped parks (€700 million).

The economic impact of a major sports event: the case of Milan - Cortina 2026

The Luiss report also includes a simulation exercise aimed at assessing the economic impact of a major sporting event, such as the Milan - Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, through the analysis of the multiplier effects activated by the organisation and holding of the event itself. The main hypothesis is that the event will lead to an increase in demand for the sports sector, which is assumed to correspond with a conventional value of €1 billion. The exercise suggests that the 2026 Winter Olympics will generate a total increase of €1,142 million in resources within the sports sector; the sectors directly and indirectly related to the sports sector will benefit from increased resources of €1,026 million. To summarise, an increase in demand of €1 billion in the sector generates as a direct, indirect and induced effect an impact on the entire economy of €2,901 million, equivalent to a multiplicative activation factor of about 2.9.

The organisation of the Winter Olympics will also have an impact on employment brought about by the increase in demand and thus production for companies supplying the sports sector. The estimate made suggests that for an increased demand for goods and services of €1 billion in the sector, almost 13,000 new labour units can be generated in the country system (of which more than 9,000 are within the sector and almost 4,000 are in the main related economic sectors). Similarly, the increased production activity of the sports sector also has an impact on companies downstream in its supply chain in terms of increased added value.

The impact analysis shows that for every euro of added value created in the sports sector, approximately €0.46 will be indirectly generated downstream in the supply chain. Finally, the increase in added value and employment corresponds to an increase in the level of income, estimated at around €320 million, with €225 million within the sector. (photo ANSA)