ROME: Parma and Spezia have become the most recent Italian clubs to pass into US ownership with more than a quarter of Serie A outfits now in the hands of north American owners.
Their bet? Growth in TV rights and the modernisation of ageing stadiums fuelling a new era of Italian football.
Two top flight games this weekend will be derbies between US-owned teams — Roma versus AC Milan and Spezia against Parma.
If foreign investment has long been part of the Premier League with only four clubs still British-owned, the phenomenon is more recent in Italy.
The harsh economic reality of the coronavirus pandemic has made clubs more open to potential investors, experts told AFP.
Roma’s US-era began…
