Football Benchmark and the Social Football Summit gathered some of the international football industry’s leading stakeholders in Budapest on May 29th for “The Business of European Football: Growth, Value, and Sustainability,” an event held on the eve of the UEFA Champions League final.

The Budapest gathering also marked a new international milestone in the build-up journey toward the Social Football Summit 2026, scheduled for November 10th and 11th at the Allianz Stadium in Turin. Following the SFS Snack events organized in recent months across Rome and Florence, and ahead of upcoming stops planned for Milan and London, the Budapest meeting has further consolidated SFS’s role as a premier international platform for discussion and networking within the football industry.

Moderated by Pedro Pinto, the event delved deep into the core trends currently shaping the football business, focusing discussions heavily on growth, value creation, and sustainability. From the surging valuation of elite European clubs to the crucial role of financial discipline in underpinning long-term development—while exploring innovative approaches to club growth and player workload management in an increasingly congested calendar—the speakers tackled some of the sector’s most pressing strategic questions.

The Continuous Growth of European Football

The opening session analyzed the findings of Football Benchmark’s latest report, “Football Clubs’ Valuation: The European Elite 2026,” examining the core drivers behind long-term value creation in European football.

Discussions highlighted how top-tier clubs have evolved into globally recognized brands, propelled by robust commercial revenue growth, international fan engagement, infrastructure investments, and consistent on-pitch sporting performance.

Andrea Sartori, Founder & CEO of Football Benchmark, emphasized the extraordinary growth achieved by Europe’s elite clubs in recent years: “The growth of elite European football over the past decade has been extraordinary. Among the major global financial indices, only the Nasdaq has outperformed the value creation generated by Europe’s top football clubs. This is an exceptional result for an industry that, while remaining relatively small from an economic perspective, draws immense strength from its unique cultural significance and its power to build globally relevant brands. The season’s UEFA Champions League finalists perfectly embody this trend. Paris Saint-Germain has built one of the strongest sports brands in the world, while Arsenal has demonstrated how patient sporting and commercial development can translate into significant long-term value growth.”

The panel also explored the impact of financial sustainability regulations in fostering greater financial discipline across the European football landscape. “Regulations have contributed to a significant increase in financial discipline within European football. Today, many top clubs are highly professional organizations, capable of generating substantial revenues and operating with a managerial mindset that is far more developed than it was twenty years ago,” stated Andrea Traverso, Executive Director of Financial Sustainability & Research at UEFA.

Growing Clubs in a Regulated Era: The Case of Como 1907

The second session focused on the remarkable rise of Como 1907, tracing their journey from the lower tiers of Italian football to UEFA Champions League qualification, and detailing the strategic choices that supported the club’s development both on and off the pitch.

Como 1907 President Mirwan Suwarso reflected on the vital role that corporate and organizational culture played in driving the club’s growth trajectory: “Culture was the most important decision we made. Starting with Cesc [Fàbregas], who instilled in the team the absolute belief that they could compete in any challenge. This attitude spread throughout the entire club, where [Thierry] Henry and [Raphaël] Varane also constantly push us to improve. Alongside the people already working at the club, we deliberately selected figures capable of thinking differently, rather than just following traditional models. As a club with ambitious goals, we found that this mindset deeply fostered our growth both on and off the field.”

Suwarso also discussed the massive opportunities and responsibilities that come with this new phase of development following their historic UEFA Champions League qualification: “Qualifying for the UEFA Champions League is something we cannot take for granted. It provides us with the perfect opportunity to accelerate everything we are building—not only from a sporting and competitive standpoint, but also in terms of innovation, organizational growth, and overall club development.”

The discussion underscored how modern football clubs are now pursuing increasingly diversified growth models that successfully blend on-field sporting ambition with long-term organizational, commercial, and cultural evolution.

Managing Growth Sustainably

While the continuous expansion of football offers immense opportunities for clubs, competitions, and industry stakeholders, the concluding session shifted its focus to the imperative of ensuring that this growth remains sustainable for the game itself.

Bringing together representatives from FIFPRO, the PFA, and European Leagues, the debate addressed player workload, calendar expansion, and the delicate equilibrium required between commercial development, the quality of the sporting product, and athlete welfare.

Maheta Molango, Chief Executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) and FIFPRO Board Member, emphasized the importance of putting the sport back at the heart of future discussions: “We must return to putting the game back at the center of everything. Too often, football focuses on everything surrounding the game rather than the quality of the play itself. Industry growth is positive, but the players and the quality of the product on the pitch must remain at the heart of the decision-making process.”

Concluding the panel, Alberto Colombo, Managing Director and General Secretary of European Leagues, highlighted the critical necessity of structured collaboration among all moving parts of the industry: “Decisions concerning the match calendar impact the entire football ecosystem: leagues, players, clubs, and fans alike. This reality demands the implementation of a structured social dialogue and governance reforms that allow for more inclusive and balanced decision-making processes, capable of reflecting the interests of all stakeholders.”

Across all three sessions, speakers reflected on a football industry that continues to expand rapidly in scale, valuation, and global cultural footprint. The discussions made it clear that while football continues to unlock unprecedented opportunities, its rapid growth brings a series of vital long-term sustainability considerations.

In his closing remarks, Riccardo Nasuti, Strategic Advisor to the Social Football Summit, further emphasized that the future of football will not be defined solely by revenue figures or commercial success, but rather by the industry’s collective ability to build ecosystems that are fully sustainable from a financial, organizational, and human perspective.