Hollywood falls for Como: Champions League football by the lake

There is a place in Europe where Champions League football is played just metres from a lake, where vintage wooden Riva water taxis speed across the water and vintage seaplanes come in to land. It is a picture-postcard setting famous around the world, especially since George Clooney bought a holiday home here. And Hollywood stars are increasingly buying tickets to watch Como, a club that was playing amateur football just seven years ago and is now preparing to host Manchester United. Como’s football miracle The Lombardy city of 85,000 people, close to the Swiss border, is the setting for one of the most remarkable experiments in European football. After finishing fourth in Serie A last season, Como are playing Champions League football at the Stadio Sinigaglia, upgraded in record time to meet Uefa standards. At the heart of the project is Catalan coach Cesc Fàbregas, whose team play a fast-passing game built around young talent, almost all of it from abroad, including Nico Paz, Jacobo Ramón and Lucas Da Cunha, recently called up by France. A project born in television In 2019, the club had five employees. Today it has 300. Como is owned by Indonesia’s Hartono family, which made its fortune in tobacco and now has interests ranging from banking to property. Club president Mirwan Suwarso comes from the media world: he produced films and worked in television in London. Como was conceived partly as a story to be told, turning a local limitation into a global advantage. From the lake to a global audience The stadium holds just 12,370 people, but the lake, its villas and its celebrities are known around the world. “Our local fan base is limited, but the audience we can engage globally is unlimited,” Suwarso says. Only a few years ago, almost all online purchases of shirts and merchandise came from the local area. Today, the city and province of Como account for just 14 per cent of customers. London, Paris, Rome, Milan and New York are the leading cities. Alongside football, the club’s channels also feature documentaries about Como and its lake. Hollywood comes to the Sinigaglia “What does the Premier League have that we don’t? Money. But we have history, art, food and passion. And the most beautiful lake in the world,” Suwarso says. The owners have nevertheless invested more than €400 million over seven years. “Italian football also needs to sell the country around it abroad.” Como is aiming to become a global luxury brand. Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley, Adrien Brody, Michael Fassbender, Thierry Henry and Arsène Wenger have all been seen at the Sinigaglia. The Champions League stays by the lake The Sinigaglia is the symbol of it all: from the stands, spectators can see sailing boats and the arc of the Alps. For months, it appeared that Champions League football might force Como to play elsewhere. Instead, the stadium was upgraded over the summer to meet Uefa standards. Qualification has brought another change. After succeeding with an almost entirely foreign squad, the club is now looking for young Italian players, who are needed to meet the competition’s squad requirements. A global brand with Como at its heart The Champions League also brings financial constraints: Uefa rules link spending to revenue. “One match at San Siro, the home of Inter and Milan, generates as much revenue as eight at the Sinigaglia,” Suwarso says. The future therefore lies with a global audience. But while Como sells the exclusive image of the lake abroad, the club keeps ticket prices affordable for its most passionate local supporters. “Como belongs to the people of Como. We see ourselves as guests, not owners.” That is the gamble: using Hollywood to win over the world while remaining firmly rooted in Como. The translation of this article was reviewed by a Language Service Provider