VIPs in the stands, the pursuit of beautiful football on the pitch, and one of the world’s wealthiest ownerships backing them. Como, despite yesterday’s defeat against Juventus, is undoubtedly one of the surprises—if not the surprise—of the 2024/25 Serie A season. As a newly promoted side, the team has already captured the interest of football fans not only in Italy but also abroad, thanks to the level of play displayed under head coach Cesc Fàbregas, emerging talents like Nico Paz, and innovative ideas for the club’s development beyond the pitch, leveraging the Lake Como brand to grow.
The Hartono brothers, among the richest families not just in Indonesia but in the entire world (with a net worth exceeding $50 billion, according to Forbes, thanks to their investments in tobacco, e-commerce, electronics, and high-end real estate), purchased the club in 2019. They entrusted their investment to Indonesian executive Mirwan Suwarso, who became Como’s president last October. Our publication met with him at the Sinigaglia Stadium offices—an arena with a distinctive style, particularly in the central grandstand, whose outward-facing façade is protected as a historical-architectural landmark. At the same time, the stadium represents a key development focus for the club as it looks to the future.
In this conversation with Calcio e Finanza, Suwarso covered all aspects of the club’s sporting and business development, ranging from the stadium to finances, the importance of having backers like the Hartono family, and Como’s strategic positioning within Serie A politics. He also touched on the transfer market, including the potential acquisition of Theo Hernández from Milan in the recently concluded window and growing interest in rising star Nico Paz.
Question. Why did you choose Italy?
Answer. «We were looking for a project for a television program. At the time, I was managing a TV station in Indonesia, and we wanted to create a show that would be a sort of football documentary. Italy has always been something people love. Back then, we thought it would be a familiar theme for the audience, given Serie A’s immense popularity in Indonesia during the 1990s—it would have made for a great story to tell».
Q. And why Como?
A. «It was a coincidence. We were looking for cities near Milan for logistical reasons, to facilitate filming, but at the same time, we didn’t want to invest in massive cities like Rome».
Q. Did you speak with your fellow Indonesian Erick Thohir, former Inter owner, before investing in Italy?
A. «I spoke with his staff about practical aspects, getting advice on which lawyers to use and things like that. But in terms of club business decisions, no.».
Q. What are your development plans for Como?
A. «For us, it’s crucial to find a way to turn football into a real business. Football is the catalyst, the gateway, but in the end, we need to create an ecosystem that can sustain the football operation. That means making everything sustainable. A football club in a city of 85,000 people faces major challenges in becoming sustainable through football alone. However, we are fortunate to be in a place where the city itself is a brand: Lake Como is a global brand. It would be foolish not to capitalize on this opportunity—integrating football into the ecosystem, not as the centerpiece but as a key element. We can use football to increase visibility while also leveraging the Lake Como brand, developing activities that start from the club but expand to the Como brand as a whole».
Q. Which sectors are you focusing on in particular?
A. «I like to think of our business model in a way similar to Disney. The parallel is between Disney and Como. For Disney, Disneyland represents its theme park division; for us, the football club and the matchday experience are our “theme park division.” Then, we have eight other divisions connected to this. There’s what they call “consumer products,” which includes merchandising, licensing, and everything that comes with it. We have a separate division exclusively dedicated to clothing, footwear, and similar products. Then, we have a media division, which operates as a separate company. Tourism is another key area for us, working similarly to Disney’s travel and tourism sector».
«What makes us unique is the way we connect the football experience with tourism in Lake Como, creating a one-of-a-kind synergy. Then, we have schools and an academy—not just a youth sector for the club, but an academy for those who want to play football in the summer, for example, coming from the U.S. Parents can go on vacation while their kids play football. Additionally, we are creating a year-round football academy for those who want to take the sport seriously, potentially earning a university scholarship in the U.S. or pursuing a professional career».
«We also have a digital division that is developing a blockchain-based ticketing system, which will launch very soon. This division also handles our data management, which is crucial for all football-related operations. Lastly, we have an FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) division, which currently includes our beer, La Comasca. Everything revolves around creating an ecosystem where each element works together, and that’s how we see our project».
Q. In the unfortunate case that you were relegated, would your plans change?
A. «No. Football has ups and downs, but if we do our job well, people will no longer distinguish between Lake Como and Como Football Club. Once they become one and the same, our business will be less exposed to risks.
PLANS FOR THE NEW SINIGAGLIA STADIUM
Q. In recent days, you have presented, together with the Municipality, the redevelopment project for the Sinigaglia. What are your plans for the stadium?
A. «We will work with the municipality. The request is to develop this project, so we will collaborate with the local administration to renovate the Sinigaglia Stadium. We have enough space here».
Q. What will the capacity be?
A. «I don’t know; it will depend on what the regulations allow us to do. However, if we renovate it, it must be usable 365 days a year. Football must be secondary. Every year, 4.8 million tourists visit this area, and if this project comes to life, I believe the municipality would want to transform the stadium into a gathering hub for the community and tourists. For this reason, it cannot be used only for 19 days a year—specific solutions must be considered».
Q. : How is your relationship with the municipality? In other cities, it can be complicated.
A. «We are in Como, not in Milan or Rome. We wouldn’t even consider renovating the stadium or undertaking similar projects if the city wasn’t allowing us to do so or wasn’t willing to collaborate. For us, if we get a new stadium, great. If we don’t, how can we generate revenue to improve? We have 4.8 million tourists every year, and that number is growing. When I first arrived, there were 1.6 million tourists. Five years later, it’s 4.8 million. So, there must be a way to generate revenue from this increase in visitors».
THE CLUB’S FINANCES: AIMING FOR SUSTAINABILITY
Q. Como’s financial statements in recent years have shown significant losses (€83 million between 2020 and 2024). When do you expect to break even?
A. «The football club’s balance sheet is in the red because we have divided our operations into nine different companies. At some point, we may consolidate them, but for now, we are managing everything separately. Our goal is to reach profitability within two years, but to achieve that, all the other brands we manage need to be successful. If you walk around the city today, you’ll start seeing a lot of our merchandise, whereas three years ago, we didn’t even have a store. Now, we have four stores in the city and 485 retail points distributing our products across the Como province. We are serving a population of 85,000 people, plus the 4.8 million tourists who visit every summer. Our goal is to expand internationally and transform those 4.8 million seasonal visitors into 48 million, 400 million, or whatever realistic number we can reach».
Q. How important is it to have a family like the Hartonos behind you?
A. «I think it’s more about experience. Their group has expertise in building brands—not just one, but multiple successful companies and brands. This is another project we are developing, and we’re trying to grow it much faster because we are building it from scratch and want to reach profitability within the next two to three years. If we succeed, it will be extraordinary because achieving profitability in just eight years is incredibly fast».
«We are confident because, until now, all our businesses in Indonesia were focused solely on the local market, whereas this is the first product we can bring to the international stage. For example, even when we were in Serie B, we sold tickets in 122 countries. Last year, 20% of our e-commerce sales were from abroad, and this year, 12% of our sales have come from the U.S. alone».
«We are growing rapidly, and not because we are increasing advertising or commercial promotion, but because it is happening organically. I believe this is due to the strengthening connection between the Lake Como brand and the football club».
Como, dagli Hartono quasi 140 milioni di euro in poco meno di sei anni
Q. What is the strategy behind having so many VIPs at the stadium? We’ve seen celebrities like Keira Knightley, Hugh Grant, and Andrew Garfield at Sinigaglia.
A. «It’s a coincidence—but a good one for us. This happens in every stadium in Italy, but maybe it doesn’t stand out as much when people go to San Siro because it’s such an iconic venue. But this is Como—when big names visit a small town, people tend to notice it more. That said, it’s not something we actively pursue in an aggressive way—it just happens. We haven’t done anything; they come on their own, especially after reading about what Cesc Fàbregas is doing. For instance, James Righton, Keira Knightley’s husband, wanted to visit Como after reading about how Cesc Fàbregas was building an exciting football brand—so he wanted to see it for himself. From there, everything else followed naturally».
THE FOOTBALL SIDE: FROM INVESTORS TO NICO PAZ AND THE OFFER FOR THEO HERNANDEZ
Q. How important is the football expertise of investors like global superstars Thierry Henry and Raphaël Varane?
A. «Very important. For example, Thierry (Henry) is extremely useful in building the brand—even if he’s in the U.S. or London, he certainly helps raise our profile. Varane is here every month; he works with our educational team, with the education board, with the Academy, and is also involved in our digital sector. He’s very smart—I actually think he’s smarter than me. He was already an investor before joining us; he has investments in sports technology, so now that we’re working together, we’re aligning our interests and resources. He’s very involved in the Academy, in building the school, and in the summer camp, bringing both his experience and vision».
«Some people may think we bring in these names just for the sake of having big names, but that’s not the case. Names are just names—what truly matters is what they contribute through their work. These are high-profile individuals who are also incredibly skilled at what they do».
«I think Thierry is a media genius—his TV show (CBS Sports Golazo, where he mainly analyzes the Champions League for CBS in the U.S.) is fantastic. He always has new ideas, and we’re excited to work with him. Moreover, since Rhuigi Villaseñor (Como’s Chief Brand Officer and founder/creative director of the fashion brand RHUDE) joined our team, we have even more ideas. He’s also been talking with our latest signing, Dele Alli, who is a huge fashion enthusiast. They’re working on something together as well. I believe one of the secrets to our growth is having people from different backgrounds collaborating, bringing fresh ideas—this is what makes our project truly special».
Q. What are your sporting ambitions? Have you set a goal to qualify for European competitions soon?
A. «That’s not how we operate. We structure our budget based on the revenue we believe we can generate. So, we’re not saying, “We need to qualify for Europe to earn this amount of money”. Instead, our approach is: “We believe we can generate a certain level of revenue, which means our budget should be set at this amount”. That’s how we work. We don’t set specific sporting targets. We try not to think that way—we view everything in terms of profitability. If we manage the budget correctly and keep it within a sustainable level, we believe we can be profitable within two to three years».
Q. What are your goals for your young talents?
A. «To help them grow, of course. The goal is to attract young, talented players who can play exciting football and support Cesc. People forget that we’ve just been promoted and expect us to perform well against all the big teams, but we’re only at the beginning of our journey. Our aim is to build an attractive team so that when people come to watch us, they enjoy the experience. If we do things the right way, 60% of our new audience will come from tourists who suddenly discover that there’s a football club here. If they visit for the first time and we play with a low block and in a boring way, they will never be interested in Como. Our goal as a company is to become the world’s leading football tourism destination. If you want to be a premium football tourism destination, then the football itself needs to be fun and exciting».
Q. What’s the situation with Nico Paz?
A. «We have no intention of selling any of our players, at least not in the near future. Maybe in three or four years—because it would be naive to say that player sales aren’t part of the business. And we’re not short on money—we are well-backed».
«For example, in recent days, we made an offer for one of the most important players in this league, but the club didn’t want to sell him. We also made an offer for another top player whose club had agreed to sell him, but the player himself didn’t want to come (reportedly, this was Milan’s left-back Theo Hernández). We’re not afraid to make offers for big-name players, but we have to ensure they fit within our budget».
«Right now, if we let our ego drive our decisions, we would probably make offers for every player in the world—but that’s not how we operate. We are guided by our financial strength, which means our owners won’t simply inject money while we’re not generating sustainable revenue. We have to start making money on our own by building the business».
SERIE A LEAGUE AND THE IMAGE OF ITALIAN FOOTBALL
Q. How do you assess the image of Italian football?
A. «Italian football is underrated. French football is also underrated, and it’s highly underrated. What we are doing in Como, we could have done in Bordeaux as well. Depending on where you go, the strategy may seem different. Italian football, in my opinion, is a sport that has a lot of room for growth, from a footballing, technological, and broadcasting standpoint. There are many opportunities; it’s a very strong product nationally, but perhaps not as strong internationally, which means there’s only room to grow».
Q. In this globalized context, there are also stories like that of Alessandro Gabrielloni, who started with you in Serie D and became part of the rise to the top tier.
A. «He’s not just one of our players; he’s also our symbol. He’s only the fifth player to have scored in every division, from Serie D to Serie A, so for us, and especially for me, he represents the idea that anything is possible. If you believe, you can do it, so there’s always a place for Gabrielloni and people like him».
Q. How often do you talk to the Hartono family?
A. «Frequently. There is no set schedule, but there is at least one conversation per week, sometimes even daily. During the transfer market, they are involved; they receive pre-match and post-match reports. They want to know everything about how things work. They are not football fans, but they want to understand. To help them understand, we need to create a system that anyone can grasp—so they can see why one person pays X and another pays Y. That’s why data is extremely important to us because their decisions are data-driven, whether it’s choosing a player or shaping a team-building strategy. Everything has a return-on-investment value for them».
What do you think of Serie A as a league?
A. «Serie A, as a league, is full of very passionate and involved people. I think that’s the recipe for success: you need people who are strongly engaged in this. Sometimes you might disagree with a proposal, but collectively I believe they’re always working together toward growth. Arguments? There are arguments in the NBA and the Premier League too. It’s the same everywhere. But I think Serie A is stronger, in my opinion, because the owners really put their heart into it, and everyone attends the meetings. How many times have the Glazers or Kroenke attended a Premier League meeting? Probably never. But every majority owner in Serie A is there».
Q. What impact can there be from the fact that over half of the clubs are foreign-owned?
A. «I hope that all the other owners see us not just as foreigners, but as one of them, trying to build the league together. I don’t think it matters where they come from; what matters is what they are trying to do together. If you look at people like, for example, the president of Napoli, Aurelio De Laurentiis, he is an individual but thinks like a corporate entity. He manages his club very successfully, probably in an unorthodox and unique way, but commercially, he’s still very astute. Similarly, the Percassis, owners of Atalanta, are very intelligent, they run their club like a business. So I think maybe in the past, there was a stereotype that owners run clubs, but in the modern era, I believe many football club owners are starting to become more corporate».
Q. So, are you satisfied with your investment so far?
A. «Absolutely, yes».