Between investment funds and new governance: Leap Academy launches the Master in Football Finance to train international Sport Business leaders

Modern football is no longer played solely on the pitch; it is played on a global chessboard where international capital, private equity funds, and new governance strategies constantly redefine the boundaries of the sports industry. In an environment characterized by the “competition between competitions” and a relentless push toward internationalization, professional training and managerial expertise are no longer optional—they are vital assets.

To analyze these transformations, we met with Valerio Casagrande, Co-Founder of LEAP Sport and a professional with over twenty years of experience in the finance sector, gained across top-tier clubs (Parma Calcio, Lega B) and global consulting giants like Deloitte.

From managing multicultural ownerships to the challenge of economic sustainability, Casagrande takes us on a journey “behind the scenes” of the football business, revealing details of the new Master in Football Finance by Leap Academy: the first English-language program designed to bridge the gap between corporate cultural models and the specificities of the European sports market.

Dr. Casagrande, before getting into the core of our interview, could you introduce yourself to our readers?

“After earning a Master’s degree from Bocconi University, I gained over 20 years of experience in executive finance roles across the sports sector (Parma Calcio, Lega B), investment holding (Italmobiliare), and advisory (Deloitte and Protiviti). During this journey, I had the opportunity, among other things, to serve under three different ownership structures of a football club: Chinese, Italian, and American. I am currently involved in the entrepreneurial project LEAP Sport, a training and consulting company of which I am Co-Founder.

I am also an Adjunct Professor at the International University of Monaco. At the same time, I consider myself a student—something I like to emphasize—because I believe continuous education and skills development are essential in a constantly evolving world. In fact, I am currently attending the Leadership and Management program organized by European Football Clubs and Harvard Business School”.

What is your view on the current state of sport—and football in particular—from a business and governance perspective, considering the increasing involvement of international and financially sophisticated investors?

“I clearly see a strong dynamism and a trend toward progressive internationalization and globalization across several dimensions: the sporting and commercial arenas in which organizations compete; the origin of capital and investors; and, naturally, the audience that sports organizations target. There are many examples: the acquisition of Formula 1, traditionally a European sport, by the American company Liberty Media and its subsequent transformation project; the entry of numerous investors from around the world, particularly North America, into European football; the creation and hosting of the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States; national competitions being played in emerging foreign markets (such as the Spanish and Italian Super Cups held in Saudi Arabia); the emerging NBA Europe project; the scheduling of NFL games in Brazil and Europe—and many more.

I believe this is now a well-established trend that will become even more entrenched in the coming years. Within this evolving landscape, I also observe two very recent defining characteristics”.

Which ones?

“The first is what I would call the “competition between competitions.” The play on words is intentional, as it effectively captures this recent trend. Traditionally, we were used to competition between clubs, both on and off the field: football clubs competing to win the Champions League and to capture market share; NBA franchises competing for titles and global brand positioning.

To all this—which obviously still exists—a new form of competition has recently been added. Perhaps it has always existed, but never with such intensity, almost brutality, as today. I am referring to competition among competition organizers themselves, fighting to secure space—both physical and virtual—on the global sports calendar to attract audiences. FIFA vs UEFA; Champions League vs Premier League and domestic competitions; NBA vs FIBA; Super League vs UEFA, and so on.

The stakes are clearly economic, i.e. the allocation of financial resources within the sports ecosystem: investor capital, consumer spending, broadcasting rights budgets, corporate advertising investments, etc. The second trend concerns the transformation in the type of investors”.

The first point is very clear and interesting. Could you elaborate more on this second aspect?

“Let’s take football as a reference. Over the past thirty years, football club ownership structures have evolved significantly. Initially, clubs were owned by local entrepreneurs whose nationality typically matched that of the club. This later evolved into a model where investors—still often entrepreneurs—could be foreign.

Then came the Multi-Club Ownership (MCO) model. More recently, we are increasingly seeing the involvement of private equity and asset management funds in club ownership structures. According to a recent EY analysis, 50% of English and French clubs now have such investors in their capital, whether through majority or minority stakes. In Italy, two leading clubs, Milan and Inter, are owned by funds. These new models have not replaced the previous ones but have been added to them, creating a highly diversified landscape”.

What does this mean for football clubs and their governance?

“From a governance perspective, this clearly presents a challenge. Club management must understand the context in which they operate and the objectives—both strategic and time-related—of the different types of investors.

A key success factor becomes the integration between the business model and the broader context, and more generally, strategic alignment between the holding/group structure and that of the club. At the same time, the current scenario also presents opportunities. The entry of new investors creates what I see as a WIN–WIN situation: it is beneficial both for buyers—who demonstrate strong determination to enter the market—and for sellers, who may achieve significant returns while avoiding the pressure of diverting resources from their core businesses into football clubs.

There are also benefits for the national system. Football does not carry the risk of business or job delocalization, which is common in many industries when new investors enter. This reduces concerns for public institutions and labor organizations. Roma will always remain in Rome, Bologna in Bologna—this applies to all clubs.

New investors also tend to bring innovative perspectives, management practices from other industries, and the potential to develop economically and financially sustainable club models. However, all of this depends on one essential condition”.

And what is this key condition?

“I return to the concept of integration: the need to balance the introduction of innovative business approaches with adaptation to the specific realities of European football.

The LEAP Sport Academy initiative is designed precisely to address this need: fostering cultural and professional integration within the sector, acting as a bridge between different corporate cultures and professional experiences, and promoting strategic alignment through knowledge and skills development.cIn particular, the Master in Football Finance program—the first delivered in English—is designed for clubs operating in international contexts and aims to develop managerial competencies within clubs and their broader groups (e.g., board members, CFOs, FP&A managers, controllers, Chief Business Officers, etc.).

It also targets international professionals—such as investors, family office managers, investment holding executives, fund managers, business lawyers, bankers, consultants, auditors, and financial analysts—who are interested in understanding the specific dynamics of professional football, with a focus on, but not limited to, the Italian context. The dissemination of knowledge and expertise, in service of the system and its stakeholders, is the foundational element of LEAP Sport Academy”.