MP & Silva to Rep Italian National Football Team Rights for Asia

SINGAPORE: MP & Silva has acquired the Asian rights for all of Italy’s home football matches until the FIFA World Cup 2014.

The sports media company picked up the rights from Italian state broadcaster Rai. The deal kicks off with tonight’s Italy vs. Spain international friendly, also to include the Azzurri’s home UEFA EURO 2012 and FIFA World Cup 2014 qualifiers and friendlies. Italy’s FIFA World Cup 2014 qualifying group will include Denmark, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Armenia and Malta and matches will be played in the period from September 7, 2012, to October 15, 2013.

“We are delighted to have added the rights for Italy’s crucial matches over the next three years to our global portfolio,” said Andrea Radrizzani, the group CEO of MP & Silva. “This agreement further cements our position as the leading agency in distributing football rights into Asia and we believe that, with this deal, we can enhance the positioning of the Italian national team and further increase Italian football’s overall fan base across the region.”