Grandson of Italy’s final king seeks to purchase mafia-linked soccer membership | Italy

The grandson of Italy’s final king is looking for to take the throne of a historic Naples soccer membership that was named in honour of the royals, in an effort to “hold it away” from the mafia.

Prince Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia desires to purchase Savoia, a membership established in 1908 in Torre Annunziata, Naples, making it one of many oldest golf equipment in southern Italy.

The prince, a winner of the Italian model of Strictly Come Dancing, says he desires to rescue the Serie D membership from the Camorra mafia after 4 of its officers had been arrested in October over alleged hyperlinks to the felony organisation as a part of an extortion investigation. The membership was allegedly compelled to pay pizzo (safety cash) totalling €130,000 to permit the group to take part within the Eccellenza championship for the Campania area.

“It’s a wound that’s tearing me aside because it touches my sensitivity after I bear in mind these heroic industrialists who based the corporate in 1908, entrusting the group with my household’s historic coat of arms,” Prince Emanuele, 50, instructed Corriere dello Sport. “Seeing it now related to the notorious Camorra is a reason for nice concern and despair.”

The prince, a Juventus fan, offered his proposals for the membership in Torre Annunziata on Wednesday. His dream is to “deliver the membership to Serie C” and develop a youth academy. He and three companions have created Casa Reale Holding to be able to purchase the membership.

“We have now requested all of the documentation to guage the acquisition of Savoia Calcio 1908 however our mission is far broader, with a view to additionally specializing in the social area,” he stated. “We’re taking a look at an academy that would supply scholarships for younger soccer abilities and for boys within the district of Torre Annunziata and southern Italy basically.”

The prince is the grandson of King Umberto II, who had been on the throne for under 34 days when Italians voted to abolish the monarchy in June 1946. Umberto and his male heirs had been compelled into exile.

Born and raised in Switzerland, Prince Emanuel set foot in Italy for the primary time in 2002 when parliament scrapped a regulation banning the exiled royals from getting into the nation.

He received the movie star dance present in 2009, and in 2013 he appeared in a TV advert for e-cigarettes, wherein he claimed that utilizing the units would “deliver you extra intercourse”.

A subsequent enterprise enterprise led to the prince promoting pasta within the US from a meals truck named The Prince of Venice. The descendants of Italy’s former royals use their titles even when they don’t seem to be recognised by the Italian authorities.

In 2020, prince Emanuele introduced the creation of a political motion known as Extra Italy, a gaggle that reportedly included the French former tradition minister Frédéric Mitterrand. The purpose was to “enhance and safe Italy’s future”. It’s unclear what turned of the motion.