NEW JERSEY – On the second day of the Inter management meeting in New Jersey, president Erick Thohir spoke to Inter Channel.
"We've covered lots of topics on this second day. We want to speed up the process of modernising our facilities in Appiano and maybe add a few more pitches. We also want to further develop the training centre itself and not only in Appiano but at the youth academy training ground too. There's un understanding between the first team and the Primavera to work together almost as a single entity.
"On the sporting side of things we'll try to expand our team and have a manager in Appiano to oversee the running of the facility. We already have a manager who looks after the players and their needs – that's common in the States.
"I'm delighted to learn that our fanbase is increasing around the world. Last year we had around 254 million fans and now it's grown to around 311 million. That's excellent growth but obviously we want to improve it further thanks to Inter Channel and our social media channels because more and more young people have access to new media nowadays.
"All the clubs in Serie A should work together: Serie A and the presidents need to cooperate if we want to grow the league.
"At the moment we're the fourth-biggest European league. We were third a few years ago and I wouldn't want us to slip down to fifth over the coming years. If we look at global revenue, the Premier League is in first place, the Bundesliga is second and La Liga is third.
"It's important that the Italian league and the clubs that are part of it can grow and be sure of competing. We must understand the globalisation that is going on and, as you know, Suning are one of the biggest supporters of TV rights in China having bought the rights to broadcast lots of games. They want to help Serie A develop in China and develop the Italian market."
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