Giving S'pore football a leg up

THE six-year contract that his company recently inked with the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) is, in Andrea Radrizzani's words, "a lot of money", but one that he feels will be worth every penny in the long run.

Last month, the FAS and international sports media rights company MP & Silva joined hands in a deal worth more than S$25 million. It is the biggest commercial deal in the history of Singapore football, easily surpassing the association's earlier S$15 million, ten-year sponsorship by Tiger Beer. "It's probably one of the most important contracts done in football in this part of the world in recent years," says Mr Radrizzani, the 40-year-old founding partner of MP & Silva.

"We are very motivated and very keen to do a good job. For us, it's a good opportunity to expand our expertise here. We also feel that we are from Singapore. Our base started here, and it's still our Asian headquarters," the Milan-born businessman adds.