As Italian soccer fans await the weekend to watch Serie A leaders Napoli take on second-placed Juventus in one of the season’s most anticipated clashes, Coppa Italia has returned to action on Tuesday.

Italy’s flagship domestic cup has enjoyed remarkable growth over the last few years, becoming increasingly more attractive to clubs for the financial and reputational rewards that come with lifting the trophy.

Last night, Inter Milan faced Serie B side Parma in a match that saw 44-year-old iconic goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon return to Stadio San Siro and nearly triumph over one of the fiercest rivals of his illustrious career.

Parma, who entered the Round of 16 as the underdogs, took the lead in the first half with a stunner by Croatian midfielder Stanko Jurić. Just as they prepared to celebrate a historic upset, Lautaro Martinez’s half volley in the 88th minute leveled the score and forced the game to extra time, where Inter Milan secured the qualification thanks to Francesco Acerbi’s winning header. The Nerazzurri have thus booked a slot to the quarter finals, where they will take on either Atalanta or Spezia.

Stadio San Siro will enjoy more action tonight as AC Milan host Torino, while Thursday’s schedule sees Fiorentina battle Sampdoria and Serie B’s Genoa face AS Roma at Stadio Olimpico.

Over the last years, the competition to acquire the Coppa Italia television rights has heightened, resulting in a spike in the tournament’s value and prize money.

In 2021, Milan-based commercial broadcaster Mediaset secured the tournament’s rights until 2024 with a €48 million/year ($51.6m) offer, beating national broadcaster Rai.

​Mediaset’s most recent bid indicates that the tournament has experienced a 35% growth from the previous three-year cycle (when broadcasting rights sold for €35.5 million) and has more than doubled its value with respect to 2015-18 (€22 million).

Coppa Italia’s growth gives Italian clubs a chance to chase larger bonuses as they advance toward the tournament final.

According to Calcio e Finanza estimates, accessing the May 24 final at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico grants teams a €5 million reward, with the gold medalists taking home another €2 million. They will also collect approximately €3 million for featuring in the next edition of the Supercoppa Italiana, the national competition in which the Serie A champions battle the Coppa Italia winners.

Lifting the Coppa Italia trophy is even more valuable considering that winners earn direct access to the UEFA Europa League group stage, where they can take advantage of the substantial prize money set aside by UEFA.

This season, participating teams can regularly count on proceeds from matchday ticketing, as this is the first Coppa Italia edition in three years not to be affected by any pandemic-enforced attendance restrictions.

Last year’s final between Italian soccer giants Inter Milan and Juventus, which was one of the first soccer events to return to full attendance, generated over €5 million in gate receipts according to Gazzetta dello Sport, the highest amount ever recorded in a single Coppa Italia match.