By Roberta Nebbia, Italy Managing Director at Licensing International

The 2025 Global Licensing Industry Study, recently released by Licensing International, confirms that the sports licensing sector represents 11.1% of the global industry. Sports IPs now constitute the third-largest property category in the market, growing in line with the overall industry at +3.6%.

In this context, the Italian and Spanish sports licensing sector can be considered relatively young compared to markets like the U.S. or the U.K., with soccer—also called football in Europe—representing the majority of it. Italian football clubs have only recently begun to recognize the role of the Licensing Manager (or equivalent positions). In some clubs these roles remain relatively isolated, while in others—where management has better understood the importance of the sector—structured teams dedicated to licensing are being developed. At the same time, it is worth noting that in some cases the potential of licensing and merchandising is not yet fully recognized by club ownership or management.

Opportunities in this sector go beyond immediate revenues—licensing programs can serve as powerful tools to reach new audiences, expand fan bases both locally and abroad, and strengthen long-term brand value. However, in many clubs, licensing still does not generate revenues that are considered significant within the broader business model. But as awareness of these benefits continues to grow, more organizations are expected to invest strategically in licensing as a core pillar of their development.

Particularly notable in Italy are the cases of Juventus, AC Milan, Inter, and AS Roma. They were recently joined by Napoli, which returned to prominence with its long-awaited Serie A title in 2023 (ending a 33-year drought) and confirmed its resurgence with another championship in 2025. This success honored the club with a wave of interest from licensees eager to collaborate, but it also meant that Napoli was soon confronted with a flood of counterfeit products. Managing this surge highlighted the growing importance of brand protection and the need for structured licensing strategies, turning a challenge into a catalyst for more professionalized operations in the sector.

These licensing strategies can at times also be centered around iconic players. Naples itself elevated Argentine star Diego Maradona to near-sainthood long before his passing in 2020, and his enduring legacy continues to generate commercial and cultural impact. This year, the Diego Maradona brand will be present among the exhibitors in the sports area of the upcoming Brand Licensing Europe in London.

Among Italian clubs, AC Milan stands out for having fully embraced a global lifestyle positioning. Under the leadership of its eCommerce, Retail, and Licensing division, Milan transformed from a small unit into a structured business of 25 professionals bringing relevant revenues to the club. This growth was fueled by a bold strategy that combined heritage storytelling with fashion, art, and pop culture. The club’s 125th anniversary celebrations became a milestone in sports licensing, with monthly product “drops” in partnership with international brands. The 125th anniversary strategy was so well handled that it exceeded expectations, especially considering that the club was going through what many considered a “bad season” in terms of league results, finishing far below expectations in the national league. This achievement proved that licensing and brand management can create value independently of sporting results, strengthening the club’s position as a global brand.

Milan’s strategy is also closely tied to city licensing, leveraging the international recognition of “Milan” as both a football club and a global capital of fashion and design. This dual identity strengthens the club’s ability to expand its notoriety abroad, positioning AC Milan not just as a sports team, but as a lifestyle brand rooted in the cultural prestige of its city.

Juventus, on the other hand, has built a reputation as the most forward-thinking and disruptive of Italian clubs when it comes to licensing. It was among the first to anticipate trends and experiment outside the traditional boundaries of sport, launching innovative projects such as the animated TV series Team Jay. Featuring a zebra character inspired by the club’s historic mascot, the series targeted children and families. It achieved strong results on YouTube and attracted significant attention from the media industry. This pioneering approach exemplifies Juventus’s ability to merge sport, entertainment, and licensing into a unified strategy, setting benchmarks for the rest of the industry.

AS Roma offers yet another perspective, one deeply linked to the city’s identity and its global appeal as a tourist destination. Licensing at Roma operates on two levels: on one hand by cultivating the core fan base and, on the other, by capitalizing on the international awareness of Rome itself as a world-renowned city. The club has long enjoyed high brand awareness, and while much of its licensing distribution remains weighted toward Italy, Roma has also expanded its eCommerce capabilities to reach fans worldwide. Over the years, the club has experimented with operations to step beyond a purely local focus, widening its target to appeal to both devoted tifosi and international visitors. Roma’s strategy underlines the importance of balancing local authenticity with global resonance, while carefully curating product categories—emphasizing apparel and lifestyle collaborations—over mass-market licensing.

The broader Italian landscape reflects these diverse strategies. Additional clubs with a more local consumer base—such as Fiorentina, Bologna, Atalanta, and Cagliari—are also beginning to emerge in this panorama. In general, Italian clubs remain selective in their licensing, often focusing on apparel, accessories, and giftware, while categories like food are more challenging due to overlapping sponsorship agreements.

Digital engagement is becoming increasingly central, with fan tokens, gaming sponsorships, and immersive experiences complementing traditional merchandising. Inter, for example, has amplified its notoriety through collaborations with Paramount Italy, playing along on the field and in the digital world with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Compared to character and animation licensing, football licensing remains more localized, designed to feed club retail channels rather than operate as fully independent programs, but it can also be the subject of visionary and forward-thinking initiatives.

While Italian football clubs have only recently begun to build structured licensing teams and strategies, Spain offers a more mature model. Spanish giants such as FC Barcelona and Real Madrid professionalized their licensing operations earlier, creating dedicated companies like Barça Licensing & Merchandising (BLM) to manage retail, eCommerce, and global partnerships. Thanks to these efforts, a club like FC Barcelona now boasts a great international reach with merchandise for its fans locally and abroad, and notable collaborations.

Looking ahead, the Italian sports licensing sector is poised for further growth. Opportunities lie in expanding lifestyle and fashion collaborations, developing city-based licensing strategies that strengthen ties between clubs and their urban identities, and investing in digital engagement to reach younger, global audiences.

While counterfeiting remains a pressing issue, it also serves as a reminder of the value and demand that Italian clubs generate worldwide. If Italy continues on this trajectory—professionalizing operations, diversifying categories, and leveraging both tradition and innovation—it is well positioned to consolidate its role in Europe.