Matt Rizzetta, founder of Underdog Global Partners and president of Campobasso, reiterated his determination to bring Napoli into a new phase of development. In his interview with Sportico, Rizzetta confirmed that talks with the DeLaurentiis family for the purchase of the Italian club are still ongoing and that the project is not limited to football, but aims to create a multisport holding company based in Naples.
The Underdog group has already managed the Napoli Basket men's and women's basketball teams and is negotiating deals for volleyball, motorsports, rugby and water polo. The goal is to build a "multisport giant under the Napoli umbrella", inspired by teams such as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. According to Rizzetta, Naples represents an "ElDorado" for sports markets thanks to the boom in tourism, the Amalfi Coast and the development opportunities in hotels, restaurants and infrastructure.
Rizzetta expressed confidence in the negotiations, but stressed that he does not want the process to drag on beyond 2027 without evaluating alternatives. "It took many years of sweat, tears and blood to build these relationships and put our group in a position to make this happen. But now we have no one to blame but ourselves if we don't," he said. Napoli president Aurelio DeLaurentiis has strongly denied the sale of the club, but Rizzetta remains optimistic about the final outcome.
Underdog's financial plan includes a public-private partnership with the Municipality of Naples for around 500 million euros, intended for the renovation of the "Maradona". With additional investments, overall spending could exceed 2 billion euros, covering infrastructure, the youth sector and social initiatives. If the negotiation with DeLaurentiis were to fail, Rizzetta has already outlined a plan B: the purchase of clubs such as Juve Stabia (SerieB) or Real Aversa1925 (SerieD), with the aim of renaming one of the clubs and promoting it to SerieA to directly challenge Napoli.
With these ambitions, Rizzetta presents himself as a visionary ready to transform the Neapolitan sporting landscape, but it remains clear that the club's future will depend on the decisions of the DeLaurentiis family and the ongoing negotiations. The next step will be the conclusion of the negotiations by the end of 2025, with the hope of creating a project that combines sport, tourism and economic development in the Neapolitan city.