Italian sport,
properly discovered.

The Fylde Coast. Football. The first obsession.

Growing up on the Fylde Coast in an Italian family meant football was part of everyday life. Matches, boots, shirts and the rituals around the game were never just entertainment; they were identity.

North West football also meant winter. Wet grass, wind off the Irish Sea, cold hands, heavy pitches and games where nobody cared about excuses. It created a respect for products that genuinely perform and for people who prove themselves over time.

“I was already noticing the things that would matter later: quality, identity and belonging.”

Bologna. A workshop. A revelation.

A detour through Bologna changed the way sporting footwear was viewed. Wooden lasts lined the walls, leather offcuts sat on benches and craftsmen worked with a level of care rarely seen in mass-market product.

A pair of boots tried inside the workshop felt close, light and flexible in a way that was completely different from anything bought in Britain. That experience created a lasting interest in the people behind a product, not merely the logo on it.

“I had never worn a boot that fit like this.”

Madrid. Glass courts. Padel arrives.

In 2008 padel was still largely unknown in Britain. In Madrid it was already embedded in sporting life — competitive, social and immediately accessible.

The appeal was obvious. It had the same ingredients that make football powerful: community, identity and equipment that matters to the experience.

The Dolomites. Italian cycling.

A cycling trip through the Dolomites brought another part of the picture into focus. Local riders wore kit shaped by specialist suppliers and by the demands of the mountains themselves.

The products were not simply good-looking; they were built around real riders and real clubs. That made it clear that Club Sport Italia could eventually become more than football.

“By day three I had bought a Veneto club jersey. I’ve barely worn anything else on a bike since.”

The idea moves beyond product.

By 2016 the focus had widened. The opportunity was not simply to sell Italian sports products; it was to build relationships with clubs, players and communities that shared the same values.

The philosophy remains simple: meet people properly, understand their club or business, and only then talk about partnership, product or commercial opportunity.