Common Questions

How many minutes do Italian under-21 players get in Serie A?

Just 1.9% of total minutes — placing Serie A 49th of 50 leagues monitored, per Gravina's written parliamentary report of 8 April 2026.Source: FIGC written report

Why does Serie A have so many foreign players?

Italian clubs have historically prioritised established overseas talent. Foreign players hold 67.9% of all Serie A minutes.Source: FIGC written report

Is Serie A going to shrink from 20 to 16 teams?

The proposal has been made by Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis after Italy's third consecutive World Cup absence. No decision has been taken.Source: media / reform debate

Background

Serie A became the first major European football league to use TikTok as a live distribution window for a top-flight fixture, after DAZN and TikTok announced on 30 April 2026 that they would livestream a Serie A match free across the UK and Ireland. DAZN holds exclusive Italian rights to Serie A, making this a bilateral decision by the broadcaster to open one live slot to TikTok's audience rather than a league-level rights sale. Neither party disclosed revenue-share terms.

The move is notable in the context of Serie A's audience reach challenges outside Italy. The league has historically struggled to build a UK and Irish fanbase comparable to the Premier League or Champions League, and the TikTok livestream tests whether short-form video audiences can be converted into paying sports subscribers. For Serie A, the deal intersects with its broader commercial challenges: the league has run annual losses above €730 million and carries €5.5 billion in collective club debt, making new distribution channels structurally important. The FIGC's own data ranks Italian football 49th of 50 leagues for under-21 playing minutes, with 67.9% of all Serie A minutes played by foreign players — a structural crisis the incoming federation president must address.

On 12 June 2026, Italy's Olympic Committee (CONI) stepped aside from ruling on Giovanni Malagò's eligibility for the FIGC presidency, handing the matter to ANAC, Italy's anti-corruption authority, ahead of the 22 June election. Malagò, who holds backing from 18 of Serie A's 20 clubs, Left the CONI presidency in mid-2025 and filed his FIGC candidacy just 11 months later — potentially inside the 36-month pantouflage cooling-off period under Italian law. The election's outcome will shape whether reforms to the foreign player quota and a possible league shrink from 20 to 16 clubs advance.