Football club owner's daughter, 23, named first female president of team

A football club owner has named his 23-year-old daughter as the first female president of the team in one of his first acts after completing a takeover

Claudia Rizzo is the new president of Ternana

Italian Serie C side Ternana have a newly-appointed first female president in their history.

The takeover of the club from the Rizzo family was officially confirmed, and famous businessman Gianluigi Rizzo wasted no time in installing his loved and trusted ones in major positions within the club.

Claudia, 23, is Gianlugi’s daughter and has already conducted her first press conference in her new role, where she described her job as an “honour and a responsibility” having grown up a fan of Ternana.

She said: "I have always been a big fan of Ternana. During the negotiations, it was suggested to me that I take on the position of president.

“It is a great responsibility, but also a great opportunity. With experienced collaborators, I feel much more confident and I am convinced that the club will move forward.”

Claudia added: "The first task is to build a strong bond with the team and the city. We will reopen the subscription campaign. I feel a thousand emotions, but above all I see Ternana as an honour and a responsibility.”

The Rizzo takeover coincides with the club’s 100th anniversary, adding more significance and pressure for the new hierarchy to deliver.

As well as her new responsibility in running the football club, Rizzo also runs a small farm called Oro di Sikelia in Sicily.

The 23-year-old is one of the youngest club presidents in Italian football history

Despite her young years, Claudia is not the youngest president in Italian football history, with that record held by Alessandro Ruggeri, who was the head of Atalanta in 2008 at just 21, succeeding his ailing father Ivan.

Umberto Agnelli was also younger than Claudia when he took the helm at Italy’s most successful club, Juventus, at the age of only 22 in 1995.

Meanwhile, in England, the youngest chairman of a football club is Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, who became the club’s chairman in 2021 at the age of 23 when he became the majority owner.

The son of the former owners of Marseille, Louis-Dreyfus has overseen Sunderland’s rise back up the English pyramid.

The Black Cats were in League One when he acquired a controlling stake at the Stadium of Light, and now Regis Le Bris’ side have enjoyed their start to life in the Premier League, losing just one of their opening five games.

Ternana play in the 22,000-capacity Stadio Libero Liberati in the region of Umbria in central Italy. Le Fere reached Serie A for the first time in 1972 but were relegated in their one and only season in Italy’s top flight.