For the first time, the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio is no longer the organisation with the highest number of registered members, having been overtaken by the Federazione Italiana Tennis e Padel. Il Sole 24 Ore revealed the change through data from the «Monitoraggio Coni-FnsDsa» report, the census of associations affiliated with and individuals belonging to the 48 sports federations, 15 associated disciplines and 14 sports promotion bodies. The report’s data, which Il Sole 24 Ore previewed, refer to 2024.
The FITP reached 1.162.477, compared with the 1.123.054 athletes registered with the Federcalcio (19,5%), while volleyball (359.797), basketball (320.769) and athletics (292.599) remain some way behind. In 2025, the FITP rose further to 1.254.153 registered members.
Marco Bellinazzo writes in Il Sole 24 Ore: “The model “engineered” by the federation led since 2001 by Angelo Binaghi (when it had 130 thousand members) stems from a precise choice: to turn major international events into revenue generators to be systematically reinvested in the grassroots and training. The Internazionali BNL d’Italia, which at the beginning of the 2000s was a tournament in decline, have become one of the main economic platforms of national sport”.
“The federation’s accounts reflect this development”, Bellinazzo continues. “In 2024, the FITP had already come close to the top spot among federations, with revenue of 209 million compared with the FIGC’s 224 million. In 2025, the overtaking in revenue became a reality: the Tennis Federation’s production value exceeded 240 million, while that of the Federcalcio stood at 214 million, partly due to the absence of a major international competition. The projection for the FITP in 2026 is to exceed 280 million in revenue, a level never reached by any federation”.
Football, Bellinazzo concludes, “remains the country’s leading sport in terms of popular following and tradition. However, the FITP’s overtaking confirms that football’s sporting monopoly no longer exists. For the first time, a structured competitor has emerged, with sound finances, major international events and widespread territorial coverage. More than a simple rivalry between disciplines, this demonstrates that alternative development models can be built in Italian sport. Tennis has achieved this from a marginal position, transforming itself over two decades into the most interesting case study in European sport”.
