Australian consortium involving Nick Scali in talks to buy Reggina Calcio

An Italian football club could come under Australian ownership after a consortium involving furniture king Nick Scali held preliminary discussions to purchase former Serie A club, Reggina Calcio.

The financial crisis that has hit Italy could lead to Australians gaining a stake in one of the world's biggest football countries after the cash-strapped club was put up for sale in recent months. Reggina Calcio's long-standing president Pasquale Foti is looking to sell his majority share of Reggina and is understood to have asked a consortium of Australian businessmen to save the club.

While a deal to buy Reggina remains some way off, Fairfax Media understands that Sydney businessman Nick Scali, founder of Nick Scali Furniture, is emerging as a central figure in a potential bid for what could be a historic takeover for Australian football.

Reggina's president, Lillo Foti, was recently in Australia and held talks with the consortium who are interested in purchasing the entire club, including a seven-field training base, junior academy and their 27,000-seated Stadio Oreste Granillo in Reggio Calabria. The potential takeover is aiming to return the club to the Serie A by providing financial stability as well as a possible direct pathway for Australian players to Italian football.

Sources suggest the former Serie A club, its academy and stadium could be sold on the cheap as Foti is eager to sell out of football following the Italian financial crisis. There is no agreed fee but it's understood the initial price is significantly less than the recent sale prices of Western Sydney Wanderers and Melbourne Heart.

The club has struggled since falling from the top flight of Italian football in 2009 due to financial problems and now languishes in the third tier, the Lega Pro C. Reggina spent nine years in the Serie A after first gaining promotion in 1999. Despite their minnow status, they remained in the top flight due to the likes of Andrea Pirlo, Shunsuke Nakamura, Rolando Bianchi and Marco Borriello.

The opportunity to propel the club back into the Serie A is said to be one incentive for the Sydney investors to buy into the cash-strapped club as well as establishing a strong football link with Australia by owning a team that already has a significance to the community.

Despite not being one of Italy's larger football clubs, Reggina has a strong following in Australia due to the large Calabrian diaspora. Reggina are the biggest football club from the southern region of Calabria and one of only two clubs from the province to have ever played in the Serie A.

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/australian-consortium-involving-nick-scali-in-talks-to-buy-reggina-calcio-20150422-1mr0vs.html

what's with Serie A and those poverty sugar daddies ?
get some russian and arab money in there ffs.

and lol at smh.com

lmfao smh.com

weird choice for a club though

Bah Gawd MaraVilla using his hard earned bet winnings to buy Reggina.

smh.com First thing I noticed.

Nick Scali buying Reggina

Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey were a better match!

Had a big showroom burn down a few years ago and now he wants to buy Regina?

Forza coercing his uncle to buy Reggina

This has Forza written all over it tbh.

inb4consortiumisGLaussiesection

M99 wrote:This has Forza written all over it tbh.

inb4consortiumisGLaussiesection

Our revenue is through the roof. CEO Forza is to thank for it.

hahahahahahahahahaha, Wanderers sold for about 10mil AUD, how cheap is this club going for lol.

Surley he has some big players with him, can't see where he is getting the money to help the club, though i can already see the Sydney FC links happening.

Reggina Calcio to have the best furnished stadium? Sofas for stands?