Today's press conference. Tomorrow's feats. Romi Fuke introduces himself, outlining his plan to give Olbia Calcio a future. Their potential rivals Como.
After having paid an advance on outstanding wages from his own pocket, the 55-year-old Japanese entrepreneur from Brianza, who has been living in Gallura since 2013, has come out into the open, explaining the reasons for his interest in the club, 70 percent owned by Swiss Pro.
"At this stage of my professional life, I wanted to combine sport with situations that would somehow allow me to give back to the region what I took as an entrepreneur. This is the most important project I've undertaken so far, with the aim of strengthening, through my managerial skills, an organization that has weakened in recent years," he said.
"The Olbia project isn't short-term: there's a significant financial situation in terms of debt that can't be resolved in a matter of seconds," continues Fuke, who had already approached Olbia this summer as marketing and communications manager for the Support Committee formed to support the start of the Serie D season.
"The first phase will be to settle the accounts, followed by a period of consolidation and planning, and a final phase of acceleration, because we envision Olbia in a higher category," adds the founder and CEO of In-Lire, who envisions a three-year relaunch process.
"At this time, I haven't formally closed the deal with the club: my professionals are analyzing the debt position and operating costs, putting together a budget to cover expenses, such as travel, so that we don't have to rush like we've been doing up to now." On the team front, Fuke's priorities, once the deal is concluded, will be paying back wages, while there's already some movement on the transfer market. "There's a lot of passion and love surrounding the team, and I congratulate them on their results despite the difficulties," he emphasizes.
"We're starting to think about adding some new players to the team," he then announced, following the wishes of the Whites' coach Giancarlo Favarin on Sunday, after the match against Scafatese. It's no secret that the Gallura team's squad, due to departures and injuries, is stretched thin, and ahead of Saturday's away match against second-place Scafatese, a couple of reinforcements wouldn't go amiss.
Fuke, however, has other ideas in mind. Such as "setting up widespread financing tools like crowdfunding, to engage fans and enthusiasts who are willing to actively participate, and the possibility of attracting sponsors into the community, and forms of collaboration between companies to engage with this project," he anticipates.
To conclude: "My expression of interest arrived last Saturday, so in a way I'm also rushing along, but within a week or ten days we expect to complete the audit phase and draft the final contracts."
