Hooliganism and demand for football in Italy. Evidence for the period 1962-2011

This paper investigates the impact of hooliganism on attendance in Italian stadium and the effect of anti-violence measures adopted by Italian Government in 2007. Results first show that a structural break took place on Serie A average attendance in season 1979/80. The econometric investigation focused on the average of tickets sold per game as dependent variable. We have found a robust negative impact of hooliganism and match-fixing scandals on stadium attendance. In the light of the previous results we focus on recent policy measures adopted by Italian authorities aiming at reducing hooliganism. These measures, grounded on a ‘fidelity card’, were designed to keep out the extreme and violent part of committed fans in favour of the uncommitted. According to our econometric investigation involving single match played in Serie A from season 2007/08 to 2011/12 the substitution effect failed and the ‘fidelity card’ strategy did not turn to be successful if considering the average attendance point of view.