"Italy, England, France and Spain are the 'great footballing countries'. For clubs in these countries, being in the Champions League is very important. It gives them an even greater level of visibility," declared president Erick Thohir to World Football, a radio programme on the BBC World Service.
"At the same time, it’s important to respect countries such as the Ukraine, Azerbaijan and others because they are also competing in Europe. The Europa League is increasing the number of teams that participate in it. Why can’t the Champions League do the same?" asked Thohir, during a discussion with a BBC correspondent.
So you believe that the number of participating teams in the Champions League should be increased?
"I don’t see why not. In Italy, two teams qualify directly and a third qualifies for the play-offs. Why not have the same number of teams as England? Italy is a 'great footballing country'. Fans the world over want to see the biggest teams play in the Champions League, and this creates expectation and demand. Football is not the only sport that people watch. Basketball is growing fast and many American sports are now arriving in Europe and Asia. There were Dodgers matches in Australia a few months ago, and we've seen the NFL in London."
Do you think that Italian football needs to modernise?
"When I meet presidents of other clubs and the Lega Serie A president, I tell them: 'Don’t think of me as the president of Inter, but as a fan'. I remember the players of the 90s well, but my fifteen-year-old children don’t know any of Serie A’s current players, whereas they know all of the players in the Premier League. Serie A used to be number one, and perhaps when you’re number one you can get a bit lazy. In order to stay number one you must always keep improving because the world is changing. Serie A must modernise – it has a lot to do. We’ll do it together; Serie A will be number one again. Playing our matches on Saturdays at 15:00 would help, for example. It would be good for the Asian market, for obvious time-related reasons."
In another interview, this time with CNN, Thohir said: "Every component of Italian football – the governments, the clubs and the league – has to be more friendly to globalisation.
"Look at Major League Soccer, for example. There are many foreign investors there now, because the structures and industries are more transparent and this means it’s more secure for investors. They know before they come into the game what they can expect. I agree that it’s not easy in Serie A, but I think it’s a challenge for everybody connected to Italian football to be more transparent," continued Thohir.
President Thohir, do you think that Italian football can once again become one of the top leagues in the world, despite problems such as Calciopoli, the investigations into betting and the lack of adequate stadia?
"Of course it can. I believe in Italian football. I’ve told my counterparts that if there is another Calciopoli scandal, Serie A will die. We won’t even be number two or number three; we’ll be number nine. In terms of the other problems, Serie A must work together to improve as one. We must be more open – including on a global scale, as I was saying. Italian football is starting to do it," concluded Thohir.
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