De Laurentiis: ‘Incredible’ World Cup organisation, Napoli always ‘competitive and attractive’

Aurelio De Laurentiis praises the 2026 World Cup organisation, which he’s following from Los Angeles: ‘What they call ‘soccer’ here can become something truly important…’

Napoli owner De Laurentiis spoke about the World Cup and its potential implications for Serie A and Italian football in his latest interview with Gazzetta dello Sport.

De Laurentiis, a film producer, has a home in Los Angeles, and has attended some of the World Cup matches at the stadium.

De Laurentiis opens up about Napoli future, Italy national team, World Cup and more

“I’m watching the matches with my wife, my colleagues, and some friends. I saw Switzerland v Bosnia live at SoFi to honour my wife Jacqueline’s nation,” he said.

“An extraordinary stadium, perfect hospitality. Great organisation for traffic and parking too, all without queues. I’ve also just watched Belgium v Iran to greet Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, two Napoli players. I’ve only watched the USMNT on TV: they’re a very interesting team…”

De Laurentiis is impressed by the level of World Cup organisation in the USA.

“It’s incredible. Despite the very high prices, the stadiums, even those with 70,000 seats, are always packed, even on weekdays,” he said.

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis arrives for the screening of the film “Freaks Out” presented in competition on September 8, 2021 during the 78th Venice Film Festival at Venice Lido. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)

“The message we can take from this is that, even in America, what they call ‘soccer’ here can become something truly important.”

The journalist argued that, in American sports, every match becomes a major event.

“We need to move past a major misunderstanding: is football intended as a sports and entertainment industry, or just a sport?” Asked ADL.

“If it’s a sports and entertainment industry, as I and many others believe, it should have a proper balance between costs and revenues, containing costs as much as possible and increasing revenues as much as possible. To make it more spectacular, we should build new stadiums. The existing ones are too old, obsolete…”

De Laurentiis has been vocal about the need for change in Serie A and Italian football, especially after missing out on World Cup qualification for the third time in a row.

The Napoli owner continued to demand “financial aid from the government,” as “football mobilises 28 million voters.”

ADL also called to “abolish all regulations that limit and slow down the construction of new facilities in one fell swoop. Prevent municipalities, superintendencies, and higher authorities from hindering construction under the direction of the super-commissioner for stadiums, who can oversee project quality.

NAPLES, ITALY – DECEMBER 12: Aurelio De Laurentiis SSC Napoli President during the UEFA Champions League match between SCC Napoli and SC Braga at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on December 12, 2023 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

“Regarding the necessary reforms to improve football, let’s be clear,” continued De Laurentiis.

“There isn’t just one, and they require courage. This is what is lacking, because everything would need to be reset and the system refounded in a way that looks to the future and generational changes.”

Last month, De Laurentiis confirmed he had rejected an offer to buy Napoli.

“From 2017 to today, I have received several expressions of interest for Napoli and have turned down billions,” he insisted.

“Now, we should aim for fantastic national leagues with fewer teams, but ones that possess significant economic and financial capacity and large fan bases.

“We should also consider European and global club championships important, while always finding ways to protect players’ health, who should never risk their well-being by playing too many matches. Therefore, I am not worried if funds acquire European clubs. The concern, if anything, is that these acquisitions might occur in a stagnant context, without looking to the future.

“I’ve been hearing about reducing the Serie A championship to 18 teams for about 10 years,” De Laurentiis continued.

“I’ve said many times that there are too many matches played today. There isn’t enough time to train the national team. If we reduced the leagues to 16 teams, we would already reduce the number of matches from the current 380 to 240, which is 140 fewer than now.”

“There would be two months available at the end of the season to truly prepare a national team worthy of competing at the highest levels.”

The FIGC Presidential elections take place today, and Giovanni Malagò is the favourite to succeed Gabriele Gravina.

I am sure that [Giovanni] Malagò will be the right person in the right place and will also be able to solve the various problems affecting Serie A, as well as find solutions for the Azzurri,” De Laurentiis said.

De Laurentiis spent the last few weeks in Los Angeles, where there’s also a strong community of Napoli fans.

“It’s a second home. When I return to Los Angeles, I feel a true sense of freedom and respect for those who succeed and pay their taxes,” ADL said.

“There is no envy or resentment towards those who work hard and achieve great results.

“Napoli will be, as always, strong, competitive, and attractive. Imagine that here in San Pedro, there’s a community of 30,000 Napoli fans. When the film about the last Scudetto was screened at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, the audience’s reaction was enthusiastic. So, to all Neapolitans, I say that our team will remain where it belongs: at the top.

“The coming years will be dedicated to solving two important problems: a club-owned stadium and a training centre,” he concluded.

“These are two issues that will fully occupy me in the near future. However, when I think of Napoli, I think of the most beautiful colour, that azure blue that joins the sea and sky on the horizon, making them an inimitable immensity.’