The New Serie A: Made in Italy still dominates the Italian league

Once again this year, the aesthetics of Serie A are 60% Made in Italy, with Italian brands dressing 12 of the 20 clubs in the top division of Italian football. A result equal to last year's, since even though Lazio left the very Italian Macron to switch to the Japanese brand Mizuno, on the other hand the three newly promoted clubs (Cremonese, Monza and Lecce) dress only Italian brands respectively: Acerbis, Lotto and M908. 

On the other hand, looking at the Bundesliga, the share of national brands present plummets below 30%, in the Premier League to 30%, and to much lower peaks in La Liga and Ligue 1, where the share of Spanish and French brands represents 15% and 5% respectively. This is a statistic on Serie A that reveals some historical differences of the Italian sportswear market compared to other leagues and that - given the progressive withdrawal of the big brands from sponsorship - seems destined to continue.

The reasons that explain the difference between Serie A and the rest of Europe are many and layered, since the presence of Italian brands in the Series has remained constant over the last ten years: numbers in hand since 2005, Italian brands have always sponsored at least half of the teams in the league. A situation not relegated to Serie A alone, but also repeated in Serie B and Lega Pro. Geography can therefore be a criterion when selecting one's partners, since the Italian territory with its constellation of amateur clubs, semi-professionals and football schools has always fed the local sports equipment industry.

This custom is not only limited to played football but also outside of it, proof of which is the recent agreement between Zegna and Real Madrid. Today, in fact, the big clubs have decided to rely not only on the pitch, Roma for example has recently linked up with Fendi while Milan seems close to signing with Off-White, while Inter is still with Moncler and Juventus with Loro Piana. 

For example, adidas has decided to focus strongly on rich leagues such as England, where it has secured a respectable block: Arsenal, Manchester United, Leicester, Leeds and Fulham. Moreover, given the recent near-abandonment of Nike, the German brand has been paying special attention to South American teams for some years now, signing more clubs. Nike, on the other hand, has never had so few clubs in Italy, after years of a massive presence in Serie A, the American brand is again this year only with Inter and will no longer produce the league's balls. The situation is different in the other leagues, where Nike is widely present in leagues such as Germany, where it has increased its presence, but also in Spain, Turkey and England, where it sponsors three of the best European clubs, Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool.