The mastermind behind the idea to play AC Milan vs. Como in Australia has spoken out today against the Sport Minister.
Moving the Como game to Australia has certainly got people talking, and as expected, it is not for the right reasons. However, UEFA have given the game the greenlight, so only a final few ticks are needed before the game can proceed.
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Since that decision, though, the chances of the game happening in Perth have decreased significantly due to backlash. Massimiliano Allegri recently joined his players in saying no to the idea, whilst there is now significant external pressure on Lega Serie A to go back on the decision.
Mastermind replies
Yesterday, the Sports Minister spoke about the call, joining many others in opposing it, and he has already received a reply from Lou Sticca. Sticca, who is credited as the ‘mastermind’ for the idea sent a letter through Tuttomercatoweb, and MilanNews have relayed his words of reason.
“I listened with great interest to Minister Abodi’s words regarding Milan-Como in Perth, Western Australia. As a fan of my team, I believe I always want to be close to my team and other fans, and I understand what many will miss at the event in February 2026—what Milan-Como in Perth means to the fans.
“However, at the same time, as a Serie A fan, as a man with deep Italian roots, with an Italian passport, who lives so far from Italy here in Australia, I ask Minister Abodi to stop for a minute and think about the millions who, like me, live outside of Italy.
“Millions of people who are on the other side of the planet but who love Italy, just like those fortunate enough to live here. I remember that millions of us, our ancestors, left Italy at various times, because of war, hunger, and poverty. But our blood is still Italian, and our love for everything Italian is unwavering.
“Mr. Abodi, stop for a minute and think about what a dream it is for all of us, to be able to achieve something that many couldn’t even imagine. Going to a Serie A match while being on the other side of the world, thousands and thousands of kilometers from our beautiful Italy.”
Mr. Sticca, here’s an old proverb: «the mountain can not come to you, it is you that most go to the mountain.»
Just buy a plane ticket you stingy, lazy man.
Nice to see this point of view shared for a change. For the record. I think moving this particular game, in mid February and using the Olympics as an excuse is a bad idea.
However I agree in principle that it is a great idea to promote the league outside Italy and reward the many expat Italian communities and other Serie a fans with a real fixture. And not just meaningless preseason friendly games.
If the league/club were just open about their true reasons for doing this, then you could plan it for a point in the fixture where the travel impact can be minimised. I.e. early in the season. Something like round 1 or a fixture just before an international break.
Yep. Agreed. I wrote in a separate article that Serie A and europe in general is once more going to lag when it comes to these things. The NFL wants your money for instance and they’re playing games in Europe. They’re ahead of the curve and sees the opportunity. As an example, UCL finals viewership for now is greater than the super bowl but I’m sure that gap is going to narrow.
I’m not saying to plays lots of games outside of the country, just be strategic…. And Serie A is far from that