Why Como's directors are giving up their Champions League seats

Key takeaways

• Como president Mirwan Suwarso and several club directors are giving up their tickets for the club's Champions League debut so that elderly supporters can attend, according to the BBC.
• The gesture matters because a club playing at a compact ground has very few seats to share out on a night of high demand.
• On a Champions League matchday, the hospitality and directors' seats come out of the same limited capacity that serves season-ticket holders, members and visiting supporters.
• It is not publicly known how many seats are involved or how the older supporters receiving them will be chosen.
• Clubs that move quickly into European football often have to balance new commercial demands against loyalty to supporters who followed them in leaner years.

What is happening at Como?

The BBC reports that Como's president, Mirwan Suwarso, and several members of the club's board are giving up their tickets for the club's first match in the Champions League. The seats will go to elderly supporters, so that people who have followed the club for a long time can be there for the occasion.

That is the full extent of what has been reported. The number of tickets, the selection method and whether the arrangement goes beyond the debut match are not known from the source. Nor is it clear whether the seats are in the directors' box or spread across the ground. These details may come out later, but they have not been published.

The gesture is small in scale, and that is part of why it has drawn attention. It shows a practical problem that many clubs face when they reach the top European competition for the first time: there are far more people who want to be there than there are seats.

Why is this in the news now?

Como's Champions League debut is a milestone for the club. A first appearance in the competition usually brings a surge in ticket demand, from long-standing local supporters, newer fans drawn in by recent success, sponsors, partners and the visiting club's travelling contingent.

A visible decision by the people at the top of the club to step aside is newsworthy at that moment because it runs against the usual pattern. Directors' seats and hospitality allocations are normally treated as fixed, and on big European nights they are often the most sought-after places in the ground. Giving them up publicly signals where the club wants its priorities to be seen to lie.

The timing also follows from the competition's calendar. Ticketing plans for European matches have to be settled quickly once the draw for the league phase is made, so decisions about allocation tend to surface in the days before a first home fixture.

What does a newcomer need to know about Como and the Champions League?

Como is a club from the city of the same name on Lake Como in northern Italy. Its rise to the Champions League places it among the clubs that have reached the competition's league phase through domestic league finishing position, the main route for Italian sides.

The Champions League now begins with a single league phase in which each club plays eight matches against eight different opponents, four at home and four away, with opponents drawn from seeding pots. The top finishers go through directly to the knockout rounds, a middle band enters a play-off round, and the clubs at the bottom are eliminated. For a debutant, every home match in that phase is valuable both for sport and for the club's finances.

Como plays at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, an older and compact ground close to the lakefront. Its size sets a hard ceiling on how many people can attend any match, and UEFA's rules on segregation, media facilities and away allocations take part of that capacity out of general sale on European nights.

Who is affected by the decision, and how?

The most directly affected group is the elderly supporters who will receive the tickets. For many long-standing fans, older supporters in particular, a first Champions League night is an occasion they may have thought would never come. Getting in depends on how general sale, membership priority and season tickets are organised, and price and speed of purchase can count against people who are less comfortable with online ticketing.

The directors themselves give up a privilege that normally comes with office. Directors' seats are also where clubs host counterparts from the visiting side and other guests, so it is not known how Como will handle those hosting duties for the match.

Other supporters are affected indirectly. Each seat reassigned is a seat that does not go to general sale or hospitality, although the scale here appears limited. The club also gains in reputation, presenting itself as attentive to its local base at a time when its profile is growing well beyond the city.

Where do informed observers disagree?

Gestures like this tend to be read in two ways. One view sees them as a sincere and useful act: the people with the easiest access give it up for supporters with the strongest emotional claim, and the club sets a tone of inclusion at a moment of change.

The other view is more cautious. It accepts that the gesture is welcome but notes that a few seats do not change the structure of ticket access. Pricing, the share of capacity set aside for hospitality, and the rules on who gets priority shape attendance far more than any one-off act. From this perspective, the more telling question is how the club sets prices and allocates tickets over a full European campaign.

There is also a wider debate about clubs whose owners and leaders come from outside the local area. Some supporters welcome the investment and ambition. Others worry that local identity could be diluted. A gesture aimed at older local fans is likely to be read through that lens. Some will see it as a real commitment and others as public relations.

What are the practical implications for ticketing?

On a European night, a club's capacity is divided among several fixed claims. The visiting club is entitled to an away allocation under UEFA rules. Media, broadcast and officials' areas must be provided. Segregation can remove further seats from use. What remains is shared between season-ticket holders, members, general sale and hospitality, including directors' and guest areas.

When the ground is small, each of those claims weighs more heavily. A decision to release directors' seats is one of the few levers a board controls directly without upsetting existing commitments to season-ticket holders or commercial partners. That is part of why it is a natural first step for a club that wants to make a point about access.

The practical limits are just as clear. Unless capacity grows or the balance between hospitality and general admission is changed, demand for European nights at a compact ground will keep far exceeding supply. Any longer-term answer lies in stadium development and in the club's ticketing policy, not in individual acts of generosity.

What should readers watch next?

The first thing to watch is whether Como explains how the older supporters will be chosen, and whether the arrangement extends beyond the debut match to the rest of its home fixtures in the league phase. Neither point has been reported.

The second is how the club prices and allocates tickets over the full European campaign. Pricing for later home matches, the treatment of members and season-ticket holders, and the share set aside for hospitality will show the club's priorities more clearly than a single gesture can.

The third is the longer-term question of the ground. A compact stadium limits how much a club can earn from matchday income, which matters more as it competes at a higher level. Any progress on redevelopment plans will shape who can attend Como's European matches in future seasons.

Frequently asked questions

Why are Como's directors giving up their Champions League tickets?

The BBC reports that Como's president and several directors are giving up their tickets for the club's Champions League debut so that elderly supporters can attend instead. The aim appears to be to let long-standing fans, who may have followed the club through far less successful periods, be present for a historic first match in Europe's top club competition. The club has not publicly set out its full reasoning in the reported material.

How many tickets have Como officials given up?

The number of tickets involved has not been reported. The source says that the president and several directors are giving up their seats, but it does not say how many seats in total are being released or where in the ground they are. Until the club gives more detail, any figure would be speculation. The gesture appears to be modest in scale, and its significance is mainly symbolic.

How will Como choose which elderly fans get the seats?

The selection method has not been made public. Clubs that make similar arrangements often work with supporters' groups, membership records or community organisations to identify long-standing fans, but it is not known what process Como will use. Supporters hoping to benefit should look for official announcements from the club, not rely on unofficial reports, since the criteria and any application process have not been published.

Why are Champions League tickets so hard to get at Como?

Como plays at a compact, older stadium, so capacity is limited before any European rules are applied. On Champions League nights, UEFA requirements set aside seats for the visiting club's supporters, media and broadcast facilities, and segregation, which reduces what is left for home fans. Demand for a first appearance in the competition is also exceptionally high, so supply falls well short of the number of people wanting to attend.

How does the Champions League league phase work?

Each club in the league phase plays eight matches against eight different opponents, four at home and four away, with opponents drawn from seeding pots. All clubs are ranked in a single table. The highest-placed clubs go straight into the round of 16, a middle group plays a knockout play-off round for the remaining places, and the lowest-placed clubs are eliminated from European competition.

Do other football clubs give directors' seats to supporters?

Clubs sometimes release hospitality or directors' seats to supporters for special occasions, such as anniversaries, finals or first appearances in a competition, but there is no standard practice and arrangements vary widely. Directors' areas usually serve formal hosting duties with visiting clubs and guests, so giving them up is not routine. Como's decision is notable because it is being made publicly by the club's leadership for a landmark match.

Sources and further reading

• BBC Sport, report on Como officials giving up their tickets for the club's Champions League debut
• UEFA, official regulations for the Champions League, including the league-phase format and stadium and ticketing requirements
• Como 1907, official club communications on ticketing and supporter arrangements for European matches
• Lega Serie A, official information on domestic league qualification routes into European competition