Businessman from Montreal Angelo Bastò Enters the world of football and becomes a minority partner of Campobasso 1919. The interview.
The ingredients are all there: a successful Montreal businessman of Molise descent; A great passion for Italy and football, the desire to revive the fortunes of a team that had fallen into disgrace and to relaunch it on a national level to represent Molise with dignity.
We are talking about Last Angeloor56 years old, a native of Ururi, a small village about forty kilometers from the capital of Molise, emigrated to Montreal after only a few months of life.
After completing his studies in the United States and Paris, Angelo, about thirty years ago, began to take his first steps in the world of real estate by buying land and constructing or managing buildings of various types, both commercial and residential. That’s how he was born Stanford Real Estate Group (SPG), Its headquarters are on Rue du Parc in Montreal, with Angelo serving as its president.
Last fall, through SPG, it acquired a minority interest in a 1919 Campobasso US from Northern Sixth Group (NSG)Led by Italian-American Matt Rizzetta. The team is currently playing in the Excellence Championship.
What prompted you to invest in football, and in this case in Campobasso?
“When I was younger – he replies – my father always watched the ‘balloon’ on TV, as he calls it, and I also became passionate about football and so did my son Eden, who is a big fan of Napoli. With his cousin Emilio he never misses a meeting. We also went to Italy to watch Napoli We often go to Italy to visit family but we also take the opportunity to discover this or that city.
In 2021, while watching a Serie A match on TLN, I saw a live interview on Matt Rizzetta head of the NSG Based in New York, a company active in marketing, media, technology, sports and entertainment, who explained how he decided to invest in Italian football by buying shares Campobasso Footballand then ascoli calcio, He thus became a minority shareholder in both football clubs. Intrigued by all this, – he continues, – I picked up the phone and called. We talked a few times and slowly became friends. We met several times to discuss football and business and I began to closely follow the events of Molise’s team which, unfortunately, due to previous managerial failures, was not accepted into the Italian League Championship for the 2022- season. Not only that, the company was declared bankrupt by the authorities and could not even register for the second division championship. I called Matt and asked him: “Matt, what’s going on? Can I do something to help Campobasso?”
Matt presented me with his project: to take over the leadership of the second team of Campobasso, i.e. US Campobasso 1919, and make it the main team, given that the first team had gone bankrupt, with the aim of returning Rossobello to the Italian elite. football in a few years. He asked me if I was interested in being a part of this project. I immediately answered yes, without hesitation, given my origins, my passion for football and the desire to bring this club and the Molise name back to the top.
So I became a minority shareholder in the US Campobasso 1919 and the couple also joined the partnership Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, Known in American show business, with the ever clearer goal of promoting Campobasso 1919 not only from a football point of view but also from a communications and marketing point of view.
Last September – Angelo Pastò continues – Campobasso 1919 of the Tournament of Excellence, Italian fifth division, resumed with new coaches, new coach, new players, new sponsor with the possibility of playing in the Campobasso stadium, Nuovo Romagnoli, formerly Selvapiana, which currently has a capacity of 7,500 seats .
Now the main sponsor of Campobasso is North Sixth Group But on the back of the jerseys is my company logo, la Stanford Properties Canada. Moreover, I also finance the so-called “CB TV” which is the official web TV of Campobasso 1919 – https://www.youtube.com/@cbtv9296 – Thanks to that, through the YouTube channel, it is possible not only to watch the team’s matches live but also interviews, commentaries and other content. A great feature for the many Mollys fans spread all over the world who in this way will be able to feel close to their land.”
What decisions does he make as a minority shareholder?
“At the moment – explains Angelo Basto – I will not go into the technical advantages. A team has been created that takes care of all aspects, from sports to marketing. I am in constant contact with the management and always aware of what is happening. I give my opinion, but then it is the management team that decides I gain experience – he adds – and soon I will go to Italy, with my son, to attend some matches and get a better understanding of the reality of the team and the fans to be closer to Campobasso.
For me, it’s a wonderful experience paid for – I’ll repeat it again – with the great love my family and I have for Italy and our home region. When my family and my brother’s family meet for lunch at my mother’s house on Sundays, football becomes an excuse to talk about Italy and Molise.
Montreal and Campobasso, Montreal and Molise are now closer. The power of technology but above all the power of passion, or rather two: football and for one’s assets.
