Zamparini had business interests in several fields, with Emmezeta department stores being the most important one. He entered into football in 1987, after having bought then-Serie C2 club Venezia, saving it from possible bankruptcy. His investments in the football club led Venezia to reach Serie A in a few years. He sold Venezia in 2002 in order to buy then-Serie B club Palermo from Roma chairman Franco Sensi[2] with the goal to bring the Sicilian team back to Serie A, a goal that was achieved with promotion in the 2003–04 season.
In April 2012, Zamparini was suspended for one year for involvement in third-party ownership; however, this was shortened to five months after appeal.[3]
On 27 February 2017, Zamparini stepped down as chairman of Palermo[4] after 15 years in charge with over 40 managerial changes (the last one being the appointment of Diego López as head coach in place of resigning Eugenio Corini a month previous), announcing he had formally sold his controlling stake to an unspecified Anglo-American fund.[5] On 4 July 2017, Paul Baccaglini resigned as Palermo chairman, falling back into the hands of Zamparini, after the necessary funds were not in place.[6] Zamparini had declared that he would not seek the place of chairman after Baccaglini's resignation.[7] He became a member of the board of directors of the club, with a vacant chairman position.[8] Giovanni Giammarva was later appointed chairman in November 2017.[9] On 1 December 2018, Zamparini confirmed the sale of the club to an unnamed London company for the "symbolic" price of €10 (£8.75).[10]
He died from complications of peritonitis in Cotignola on 1 February 2022 at the age of 80.[11]
