Como 1907: From Bankruptcy to Industry Innovators in 10 Years

Avatar
Image credit: Real_life_photo / Shutterstock.com

The Lombardy-based club, currently among the best-performing in Serie A this season, has revolutionised what it means to be a football club. 

Under the ownership of the Hartono brothers, the richest owners in Italian football, Como 1907 has experienced a meteoric rise both on and off the pitch. So how did the club go from bankruptcy to business giants in just under 10 years? 

A Unique Business Model

Located among the scenic views of Lake Como, the club offers a unique experience in which luxury travel meets the adrenaline of live football. 

With 1.4 million visitors annually, the region already possesses the fame and attraction needed for a successful business. So when Mirwan Suwarso, Robert Budi Hartono and Michael Bambang Hartono came to the helm in 2019, they saw its potential not just as a holiday destination, but as a leading hub of football tourism. 

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Como helped re-establish itself as a credible presence in the local community, helping to pay for vaccinations and establishing grassroots initiatives. In the years since, the club has formed a huge variety of partnerships, allowing for multiple revenue streams to open up and cement Como 1907’s reputation as a luxury brand. 

Commercial Collaboration

Como have worked to solidify their brand aesthetic by working with partners across fashion, media, hospitality and education. 

Earlier this year, Italian luxury brand, Brioni, announced a new partnership with the club by designing a line of suits to be worn by the men’s team. Sport giants, Adidas, and streetwear brand, Rhude, also form the main sponsors helping to curate and design the expanding brand of Como 1907. 

The club has also invested in a brand of silk-filtered beer called La Comasca. Given that the beer seems hard to find anywhere else besides the club’s home ground, ‘the Sinigaglia’, its rarity helps fans and celebrity spectators feel that they are part of a football experience unlike any other in Europe. 

High Risk, High Reward? 

Of course, despite the glamour of fashion partnerships and ambitious projects, it is no guarantee that a business model of this nature will always lead to success both on and off the pitch. 

For Venezia FC, a club who threaded sleek venetian aesthetics into team kits and commercial branding, turning cultural richness into footballing success was a significant challenge. After a disappointing campaign with only five league wins, the club was relegated to Serie B. 

Como 1907, on the other hand, has proven to be an exceptional case. Since the new ownership took over in 2019, the club’s backroom staff has increased from a team of 5 to 45 people. The off-pitch team helps to manage various branches of the club’s operations including media, communications, retail and facilities. Furthermore, by partnering with over 350 affiliate stores across Lake Como, the club has grown their retail revenue from AUD 57,000 to AUD 5.5 million. 

The progress seen in recent years demonstrates that lucrative results can be achieved not only through international strategic partnerships, but by working with local businesses and pre-existing infrastructures to inspire growth. 

Off-Pitch Structure, On-Pitch Success

Alongside the brand deals and partnerships upholding Como’s expansion in recent years, the team has also grown to be formidable opponents in the Serie A. 

Led by formal Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder, Cesc Fabregas, the team finished 10th last season. Currently sitting in 6th place and only three points off a Champions League spot, Fabregas has instilled confidence and a clear strategy into the players. 

As with clubs such as Barcelona and the famous ‘tiki-taka’ style, having a defined way of playing, a footballing culture, can be extremely beneficial in creating not just a team, but a footballing institution.

What Can A-League Clubs Learn From Como 1907?

As the A-League looks to expand its presence across Australia and invest in the game for future generations, there are plenty of lessons to be learned from Como’s off-pitch development. 

Tourism numbers across major cities in Australia point to several opportunities for investment for the A-League Men and A-League Women. According to Domestic Tourism Statistics (DoTS) and International Visitor Survey (IVS), Sydney attracted 16.3 million tourists in the June quarter 2025, 15.5 million of which were domestic. 

With an expenditure of $7 billion, there is huge potential for clubs like Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers to harness the number of visitors and create an experience in which the city’s fame merges with the excitement of live sport. 

In Queensland, tapping into an image of leisure and business could be a possibility to grow attendance and revenue numbers in the A-League. In the year ending June 2024, Brisbane saw a record-breaking $10.7 billion spent by visitors. With the Olympics due to be held in the city in 2032, clubs like Brisbane Roar may look to create a brand founded on leisure, travel, and sporting prowess. 

Previous ArticleNext Article

NSW Football Associations Unite Behind AED Mapping Project for Statewide Safety Network

Avatar
Image Credit: Shutterstock

Twelve football associations across New South Wales have joined a statewide effort to map and register Automated External Defibrillators across sporting facilities, in a project that its organisers say will significantly improve emergency response times and save lives at community sport venues.

The Heartbeat of Sport AED Mapping Project, backed by funding from the Minns Labor Government to the Heartbeat of Football Foundation, represents the first comprehensive research into AED placement across NSW sports grounds. The data collected will be provided to NSW Ambulance and its GoodSAM team to enrich the existing AED registry available to ambulance and public first responders, and will feed into NSW Health’s newly released public AED map.

The project has drawn active participation from associations spanning the breadth of the state’s football community, including Eastern Suburbs, Manly Warringah, Granville, Southern Districts, Nepean, Northern Suburbs, Football Canterbury, Bankstown, Hills, Sutherland Shire, North West Sydney Football and Football South Coast.

When seconds matter

The urgency behind the project is not theoretical. At Doyalson Wyee Football Club, a 70-year-old player survived a sudden on-field cardiac arrest because an AED was available on site. The outcome of that incident – and the many others like it that occur across community sport each year – depends entirely on whether a defibrillator is accessible, charged and registered in the systems that emergency responders rely upon.

Sudden cardiac arrest kills without warning. The survival rate drops by approximately ten percent for every minute without defibrillation. In a community sport setting, where professional medical staff are rarely present, a registered and accessible AED is the difference between a player walking off a pitch and one who does not.

The mapping project addresses a gap that has existed largely unexamined. More than 2,400 defibrillators have been deployed across NSW sports and recreation facilities through the Local Sport Defibrillator Grant Program, with grants of up to $3,000 available to eligible organisations. But a device that exists without being registered in emergency response systems provides significantly less value than one that is accurately mapped and immediately locatable by ambulance crews responding to a call.

By encouraging clubs to complete AED registration surveys, the twelve participating associations are ensuring that the equipment already on their grounds is activated within the broader emergency infrastructure – translating a physical asset into a functional one.

Regional communities and the equity of safety

The project’s expansion of the #HeartHealthMatters Program, which brings CPR and AED familiarisation training to sporting organisations with a particular focus on regional areas, addresses a dimension of safety preparedness that often receives less attention than equipment access alone.

Knowing a defibrillator exists on site is insufficient if the people present during an emergency do not know how to use it. Regional clubs, which frequently operate with smaller volunteer bases and less access to formal training programs, face a compounded risk – less equipment, less training, and longer ambulance response times due to geography. The program’s regional focus acknowledges that safety infrastructure, like sporting infrastructure more broadly, is not evenly distributed.

The data gathered through the mapping project will also guide future investment decisions, identifying facilities that still lack AEDs and providing the evidence base for targeted grant funding to address those gaps.

Football associations that have already contributed AED data have demonstrated, in the words of the project’s organisers, strong sector leadership and a shared commitment to safeguarding participants at every level of the game.

For a sport that involves hundreds of thousands of players, officials and volunteers across the state each week, the ambition of the Heartbeat of Sport project is straightforward – that no preventable death occurs on a football ground because the right equipment was not there, or could not be found.

Decision overturned: FIFA World Cup 2026 to return to Federation Square

Avatar
Image credit: FiledIMAGE

Following the announcement earlier this week that Federation Square would not return as a live site for this summer’s FIFA World Cup, Football Victoria announced yesterday that the decision has now been overturned.

Widespread support prevails

The football industry moves swiftly. Whether it’s a deadline-day transfer or cut-throat managerial changes, a lot can happen in a short time span.

And this proved true once again in Melbourne this week.

On Wednesday, Melbourne Arts Precinct announced that it will not proceed as a live site during this year’s tournament.

But following widespread backlash to the decision to not use Federation Square as a live site, the initial verdict will no longer go ahead.

“In the past 24 hours, Victorians demonstrated just how important our national teams are to the fabric of our community,” said Football Victoria CEO, Dan Birrell, via press release.

Furthermore, Birrell highlighted that support for a swift overturn also came from those outside the football landscape.

“The response extended far beyond football participants and supporters, reflecting the wider community’s recognition of the signficance of the tournament and the role these moments play in bringing people together.”

 

Community comes first

Having Federation Square as a live site during this year’s World Cup ensures that Melburnians wanting to back the Socceroos, can do so as one unit.

But even those who won’t be cheering for Australia, and will instead be adorning another nation’s colours, will still be able to unite and show their pride.

This is what live football is all about.

A variety of communities and nationalities which – despite supporting opposing sides – can come together under a shared love of the game. As Birrell continued to explain, this is a fundamental part of why the decision to overturn bares such importance.

“Football is a game that transcends age, background, language and culture.”

“It brings people together from all walks of life and creates moments of connection that are incredibly powerful, particularly uring global tournaments like the FIFA World Cup.”

The Socceroos will kick off their World Cup campaign against Turkey on June 14.

 

Most Popular Topics

Editor Picks

Send this to a friend