Lega Serie A, Italian club soccer’s top-tier league body, has announced a strategic partnership with entertainment and sports management company Roc Nation Sports International (RNSI) to expand the reach and appeal of Italian soccer in North America.

The new deal builds on the pair's relationship that first began in 2019, and will see Roc Nation work to secure domestic partnerships for and increase awareness of the top-tier Serie A by “enhancing engagement of existing and new fans through digital content, marketing activations, and events.”

RNSI president Michael Yomark said: “We are super excited to help Serie A expand its brand throughout America while helping to develop meaningful commercial partnerships along with enhanced brand visibility that will lead to continued growth for one of the world’s premier football leagues.

“Serie A’s New York office is off to a terrific start, and we look forward to helping them achieve all their business goals and objectives.”

Rights to Serie A in the US are held by national network CBS in a deal running through the 2023-24 season, with games shown on both the CBS Sports linear television channel and the Paramount+ streaming service. CBS replaced sports broadcaster ESPN, which held the rights between the 2018-19 and 2020-21 seasons.

Last month, Paramount+ secured a short-term sponsorship deal with top Italian club Inter Milan, covering its final Serie A game against Torino and its UEFA Champions League final defeat to English giants Manchester City.

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That agreement was understood to be worth around €4 million ($4.3 million) and from next season, it has been reported Paramount+ will serve as Inter’s back-of-shirt sponsor and pay an additional €6 million, with €1.5 million of that being allocated to create video content as it looks to build its US fan base.

Luigi De Siervo, Serie A's chief executive, said: “Lega Serie A is looking at this partnership with RNSI with great enthusiasm. It’s a collaboration that will allow us, first and foremost, to strengthen our presence in the US.

“As a league, we aim to promote growth in this crucial region that will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and for us, it becomes almost imperative to connect with a new fan base through increasingly innovative tools and partnerships.

“By collaborating with Roc Nation, Serie A also intents to undertake projects that go beyond football, recognizing the potential of sport as a catalyst for significant transformations.”

The new partnership agreement comes days after it was announced Roc Nation had expanded its soccer operations into South America with the acquisition of Brazil-based agency TFM. The firm currently represents over 100 players, including Real Madrid and Brazil star Vinicius Junior and Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli.

RNSI is a division of Roc Nation, which was founded in 2013 by Shawn Carter, the US rapper and music producer better known as Jay-Z.

RNSI has expanded across Europe, South Africa, and the US in recent years. It launched a soccer arm in North America last year and hired former US international player Chris Wingert to lead the operation.

Image: Marvin Ibo Guengoer – GES Sportfoto/Getty Images