Minor sports, salaries major. This could summarize the history of Triathlon Federation and of Riccardo Giubilei, one of the many great little masters of Italian sport. Elected to March 2021 with 72% of the votes, after a rapid federal career that saw him first as a director and then as a deputy last year four years, one of the first acts of its new management was a measure that will change the fate of this discipline: get up your salary. Last May, the board of the Fitri (chaired by Giubilei) authorized the Federation to pay the president (ie Giubilei) a gross remuneration of 69,592 euros. It could be debated whether they are many or few for n.1 of triathlon. The point is not this, but that from practice it is not the figure that it is given it would be up to. In 2013 to address the age-old problem of refunds (another jungle where all the colors happened), the Coni di Giovanni Malagò had set the indemnity for the year at 36 thousand euros gross per year President federal. The same figure, low but equal and transparent for everyone, just to avoid disparity e abuse.
For years, however, some presidents have found a way to get around the obstacle: just give up thepublic allowance, to have a larger one correspond to his own Federation. Daily fact in the past he has already devoted several inquiries on the subject. This year the question was definitively customs clearance from football: in June the number 1 of the FIGC, Gabriele Gravina, convinced that his job was underpaid, he decided to pay himself a mega salary up to 240 thousand euros gross per year. And since there is no worse teacher than ball, the followers arrive at the wheel. In the last budget Fitri it is specified that the greater outlay “will be borne by the Federation with exclusive financing deriving from revenues from sponsorship and marketing activities, activities for which the nature publicity“. It is a note that serves to protect oneself from any disputes on the waste of public resources. But if it is true that a budget is made up of different chapters, what will be spent on increasing it salary however, the president will not end up with the movement. “There is nothing wrong or against the rules,” explains President Giubilei. “Let’s talk about one figure normal, to allow me to fully dedicate myself to the Federation, taking time away from my work and mine family”.
And indeed the case of the triathlon it is not a scandal, none illegitimacy. Probably the figure of the federal president would deserve a different economic recognition, especially for the more Federations important, also to make the office attractive. But you need one regulation external, to avoid that everyone can self-attribute the amount they want. It is just one of distortions of a system in which the Federations claim to have the rights and not the duties of public, cashing in state funds but behaving like private individuals. In this specific case, the Triathlon it is also one Federation virtuous compared to the average, it invests 70% of its resources in the business and “only” 60% of its turnover derives from contributions public (about 3 million out of 5). Only of fixed expenses, however, every year one and a half million euros go away to maintain an organization that barely counts 25 thousand members (and never any medal Olympic).
On the other hand the Triathlon has ambitions. And he climbs the hierarchies in the palace. It seems to be now among the favorites of the great head of Italian sport, Giovanni Malagò. In particular since one of his “pupils” arrived, Valerio Toniolo, former commissioner for Cortina 2021 (where he worked well), formerly on the board of the organizing committee of the Milan-Cortina Olympics as a member of the government (he was designated by the former minister Spadafora), now Secretary General Fitri. Friend of Jubilee, on his appointment there is the presidential imprimatur of Malagò. Although inside there is more than a bad mood on the part of the opposition, the Federation has recently also set up a company to expand its turnover (in the Board of the Srl there are always Giubilei as president and Toniolo councilor, with the possibility to provide additional remuneration for directors). So the little one Triathlon think big.