Marcell Jacobs at Casa Italia Collection: the Olympic champion is ready to hit the track

• EUROPEAN MULTI-SPORTS MONACO 2022

A welcome surprise guest enlivened the already rich evening of the Casa Italia Collection at the European Multi-Sport Championships in Munich. After the national rowing and sport climbing teams, the Italian headquarters welcomed Marcell Jacobs. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic 100-metre and 4x100 relay champion is ready to compete in the most important continental event after the physical problems that have limited his activity during this complicated season. 

Once inside the Casa Italia Collection, Jacobs was shown a video celebrating the feat he achieved a year ago in Japan: applause, smiles and even a veil of emotion for the person concerned and the large blue crowd present. Greetings to colleagues from the other disciplines and then a well-deserved relaxation inside the home of the Italia Team in Monaco together with its staff. Marcell is ready to take to the track.

Inauguration of Casa Italia Collection with the Azzurri of Rowing, Cycling and the Gymnastics Fairies

• EUROPEAN MULTI-SPORTS MONACO 2022

Everything is ready for the start of the European Multi-Sport Championships in Munich. From Thursday 11 to Sunday 21 August, athletes from nine Olympic disciplines (sport climbing, athletics, beach volleyball, canoe sprint, rowing, track and road cycling, BMX freestyle and mountain bike, artistic gymnastics, volleyball, triathlon) will battle it out to secure a place on the podium and perhaps the continental title. 

A total of some 4,700 athletes representing 50 countries are expected for what will be the largest multi-sport event hosted by Germany since the 1972 Olympic Games, the 50th anniversary of which falls this summer.For the occasion, Casa Italia Collection was inaugurated in the presence of the Italian Ambassador in Berlin, Armando Varricchio, who was present with the Consul General of Italy in Munich, Enrico De Agostini.

Casa Italia Collection was attended by the President of the Italian Rowing Federation, Giuseppe Abbagnale, together with the athletes of the Azzurro Eight: Vincenzo Abbagnale, Cesare Gabbia, Emanuele Gaetani Liseo, Marco Di Costanzo, Matteo Castaldo, Giuseppe Vicino, Leonardo Pietra Caprina, and coxswain Enrico D'Aniello, the President of the Italian Triathlon Federation, Riccardo Giubilei, and the Vice-President of the Italian Gymnastics Federation, Rosario Pitton, who led the artistic gymnastics 'Fairies': Giorgia Villa, Martina Maggio, Angela Andreoli and twins Alice and Asia D'Amato. Cyclists Francesco Lamon and Liam Bertazzo could not be absent, along with the Italian women riders Letizia Paternoster and Martina Fidanza.

The 'Casa Italia Collection' format, owned by CONI, will be for the athletes of the nine Olympic disciplines and the Italian delegations in Munich an organisational asset that will combine communication and meeting needs before and after the competitionsMeanwhile, the event's opening ceremony took place in the wonderful Olympiapark. Stilt-walkers, dundu puppets and light effects created a fairy-tale atmosphere and made the eyes of curious onlookers and fans who came to the performance sparkle. German rock band Sportfreunde Stiller rocked out with their new single Spektakulär (Spectacular), and then it was the turn of rapper Marteria, brass band Moop Mama and Marie Spaemann's cello.

The competitions start tomorrow, Thursday 11 August, with the women's all-around individual finals of artistic gymnastics, the women's lead and men's bouldering qualifiers of sport climbing, the men's and women's BMX freestyle qualifiers as well as the track cycling qualifiers and the first rowing batteries. The wait is over: the Munich show can begin.

Nine Olympic sports in Munich: Casa Italia Collection awaits you

• CONI

At the European Multi-Sport Championships in Munich (11-21 August), CONI will be present with the Casa Italia Collection. It is not a novelty but a continuity project necessary to enhance the assets and brand of the Italian National Olympic Committee. It will be a stepping stone towards the Paris 2024 and Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic appointments.

Over the years, CASA ITALIA has developed considerably, so much so that it is now recognised as the sports project that best represents our country in all its expressions, from culture to art and design, from food to hospitality, and from tradition to innovation.

Thanks to the experience gained in the conception, realisation and management of CASA ITALIA, CONI devised the format 'CASA ITALIA COLLECTION' of which it is the owner. This new hospitality initiative provides, in addition to the setting up of the location, the services of planning, supervision, coordination and development of communication activities, including the support and realisation of audio-visual products inside the structure with athletes, institutions and Partners, for the diffusion on proprietary and network channels, the realisation - also in terms of content - of dynamic backdrops in the multiple interactive LED areas inside the House, where the visibility of Partners and Sponsors will be guaranteed, and the creation of 'Casa Italia Collection' branded products.

The athletes of the nine Olympic disciplines (Sport Climbing, Athletics, Beach Volleyball, Canoe Sprint, Rowing, Track and Road Cycling, BMX and Mountain Bike, Artistic Gymnastics, Tennis, Volleyball, Triathlon) that will be competing in Munich can thus count on an organisational asset that will combine the needs of communication and meeting before and after the competitions.

Casa Italia Collection, therefore, will be the venue for press conferences for all the Italian delegations involved in the European Championships. Still, it will also be an opportunity to launch future sporting events such as the European Athletics Championships in Rome 2024. It will be where the medals won will be celebrated as always, thanks to the organisation's technical support and video post-production.

All accredited media, press, radio, TV and photographers will find connectivity and workstations to work in contact with the protagonists of the Azzurri exploits.

Casa Italia Collection will open its doors on 10 August at 6 p.m. (metro stop Olympiacentrum - address: Am Olympiapark 1, 80809 München) in the presence of the highest sports authorities present and the Italian Ambassador to Germany, Armando Varricchio.

Italian triumph in Banská Bystrica with 47 medals. Bertoni flag-bearer for the closing

• EYOF

Italia Team also dominates at the youth level. Less than a month after winning the medal table at the 2022 Mediterranean Games in Oran (159 medals: 48 golds, 50 silvers, and 61 bronzes), the Italian team also topped the medals table at the 16th Summer European Youth Olympic Festival in Banská Bystrica (Slovakia), reserved for under-18 athletes. The Azzurrini finished with 47 medals (21 gold, 12 silver, 14 bronze), nine more than the previous record of Gyor 2017 (38 medals, 14 gold, 11 silver, 13 bronze). The other nations were distanced: Germany second with 31 medals (9-8-14) and Spain third with 18 (8-6-4).

Volleyball dominated the two EYOF tournaments. After the gold medal three years ago in Baku, the boys again faced Bulgaria, who had already been beaten in the group stage, in the final for first and second place. Once again, the final result was a round 3-0 in favour of the Azzurrini (25-20 25-21 25-23). Coach Battocchio's boys ended the event without losing a set.

Success also in the women's tournament. After the defeat in the opening match, the Italian women volleyball players won all the subsequent matches, also imposing themselves in the final for the gold medal played against Turkey, which they won 3-1 (25-12 27-25 20-25 25-21).

In gymnastics, July Marano won silver in the floor exercise, tied with Germany's Helen Keveric, having performed exercises with the same difficulty. For them, a final score of 13,066 while Amalia Puflea of Romania won gold with 13,200. 

Bronze medal, however, for Arianna Grillo on beam. With an exercise rated 12,900 by the judges, the Azzurrina finished behind Puflea (13,366), her second gold of the day, and Anna Laschevska (UKR - 13,000). Third place also for Tommaso Brugnami on vaulting and Davide Oppizzio on bars. Brugnami scored 14,100 and finished behind Reiman (FIN - 14,333) and Zlatanov (BUL - 14,133). In contrast, Oppizzio finished with 13,033, the same score as Great Britain's Crouch, who took silver due to a higher difficulty coefficient of the exercise. Gold for Israel with Dotsenko (13,633).

Athletics greeted Slovakia with two more gold medals and eleven podiums in total. The day's first success bears Viola Paoletti's signature in the 3000-metre race. The young Azzurrina ran a race at a constant pace, always in the first positions and then stretched out in the last half lap to finish head-to-head with Turkey's Edibe Yagiz (9:25.83), half a second behind: 9:25.34 was Paoletti's time, which also earned her a personal best. The third was Spain's Carla Moreno (9:32.07).

The gold medal also went to the women's quartet in the relay race with increasing fractions, a format in which the four women run the distances of 100, 200, 300 and 400 metres. Alice Pagliarini (100), Sofia Pizzato (200), Valentina Vaccaro (300) and Elisa Marcello (400) outdistanced the Polish quartet by just three hundredths, recording a time of 2'11'27. The third was the Hungarian relay in 2'11'59.

In the Judo Team Event, Italy was beaten 4-3 in the repechage by Israel after defeating the Netherlands 4-1 before conceding 4-0 to Georgia.

Given the unfavourable weather conditions, the closing ceremony will be held inside the Judo Hall and limited to the protocol part without the cultural programme. The flag-bearer of the Italian delegation is swimmer Filippo Bertoni, winner in Banská Bystrica of four medals, three of which were gold (1500 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 4x100 freestyle relay) and one silver (400 freestyle). During the ceremony, the customary handover between the city of Banská Bystrica and Maribor will host the next edition of the EYOF from 23 to 29 July 2023.

Italia Team flies to Banská Bystrica, Marano and Borromini Italian flag bearers in Slovakia

• EYOF

July Marano and Vittore Simone Borromini will be the Italian flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the European Youth Olympic Festival in Banská Bystrica, scheduled to take place tomorrow at 8.30 p.m. in the park next to the Museum of the Slovak National Uprising.
Marano, a 2008 athlete from the Civitavecchia Gymnastics team and this year already competing among the juniors at the City of Jesolo Trophy, is the youngest member of the Italian delegation and will have the task of leading the Italia Team parade together with Borromini, the Atletica Cascina athlete, competing at the EYOF over the 3000m distance. The double flag-bearer had already made his youth-level debut at the winter edition of the EYOF, hosted last March in Vuokatti, Finland.

The Italian team, made up of a total of 96 Azzurrini (49 girls and 47 boys), left Fiumicino Airport this morning for the Slovakian city where, with the first competitions on 25 July, they will compete against over 2300 athletes aged between 14 and 18 from 48 European nations. Ten disciplines will be competing, with Badminton featuring for the first time in the programme of a summer EYOF. Italy will not be present in the Basketball and Handball competitions. The previous edition was held in Baku in the summer of 2019 and brought Italy 26 medals, including eight gold, nine silver and nine bronze medals.

The competitions of the Azzurrini of the Italia Team and the opening and closing ceremonies will be broadcast for the first time in history and, exclusively for Italy, on ItaliaTeamTv (see schedule), CONI's OTT platform that has garnered consensus by recounting the successes of the Azzurri at the recent Mediterranean Games in Oran 2022.

Banská Bystrica 2022 exclusively on ItaliaTeamTV, two channels dedicated to the Azzurrini's live broadcasts

• EYOF

Italia Team Tv lands at the EYOF 2022. After the rating boom recorded at the Oran 2022 Mediterranean Games, CONI's OTT platform will broadcast live, exclusively for Italy and the European Youth Olympic Festival in Banská Bystrica for the first time in history, scheduled in the Slovak city from Sunday 24 to Saturday 30 July.

There will be two dedicated channels to report on the competitions and successes of the 96 Azzurrini of the Italia Team, who will compete against age peers from 47 European nations in eight of the ten disciplines on the youth event programme (Italy is absent in basketball and handball).

ItaliaTeamTv's schedule for Banská Bystrica 2022 will start with the opening ceremony on Sunday at 8.30 p.m. in the park adjacent to the Museum of the Slovak National Uprising. On Monday, the first medals will be awarded live on TV (all finals will be live on the OTT platform) in athletics and swimming, and the first rounds of tennis and badminton, which makes its debut in the summer EYOF programme, will be broadcast.

Italia Team chosen for Banská Bystrica 2022, 96 Azzurrini competing in Slovakia from Sunday

• EYOF

The Italian team that will participate in the 16th summer edition of the European Youth Olympic Festival scheduled from 24 to 30 July in the Slovakian city of Banská Bystrica has been selected. There will be 48 European nations at the start of the competition dedicated to athletes aged 14 to 18.

The Italia Team will compete in eight of the ten disciplines present - absent in basketball and handball - with a total of 96 Azzurrini, 47 boys and 49 girls. For the first time in the history of the EYOF, Badminton made its debut. The mission leader of the Italia Team will be Alessio Boggiatto.

This is the complete list of those summoned:

Athletics (28)
Arisi Matteo, Azzolina Federico, Beda Mattia, Borromini Vittore Simone, Camilli Davide, Cervone Latena, Colonnella Pietro, Gavagni Nicholas, Nardocci Marco, Togni Matteo, Valotti Filippo, Vera Lorenzo, Zanini Manuel.
Bernini Giulia, Bertolone Beatrice, Bonafè Sofia, De Noni Lorenza, Di Mugno Ginevra, Lukaszek Martina, Marcello Elisa, Molteni Carolina, Pagliarini Alice, Paoletti Viola, Pezzali Elena, Pizzato Sofia, Rapetti Vittoria, Saraceni Erika Giorgia Anoeta, Vaccari Valentina.

Badminton (2)
Piccinin Simone.
Rauner Carolina.

Cycling (6)
Finn Lorenzo Mark, Toselli Ivan, Travella Nicholas.
Bulegato Alice, Sanarini Linda, Temperoni Beatrice.

Gymnastics (6)
Brugnami Tommaso, Oppizzio Davide, Villa Riccardo.
Grillo Arianna, Marano July, Pieratti Martina.

Judo (12)
Basso Francesco, De Luca Ciro, Errichiello Davide, Felletti Yan, Parlati Manuel, Sansonetti Francesco.
Corbo Sara, De Paoli Morgana, Finestrone Ilaria, Giusti Eleonora, Stoppari Emma, Venditto Aurelia.

Swimming (16)
Ballarati Lorenzo, Barbotti Jacopo, Bertoni Filippo, Del Signore Daniele, Miron Andrea, Passafaro Davide, Potenza Emanuele, Ragani Alessandro.
Bonini Alice, Buzzi Giulia, Dimaggio Alice, Mancini Lucrezia, Marconi Sara Paolina, Pasi Giulia, Principi Lucia, Procaccini Valentina.

Volleyball (24)
Ambrose Ionut Alin, Arguelles Sanchez Edwin, Balestra Cosmo, Boninfante Mattia, Bovolenta Alessandro Alberto, Fanizza Alessandro, Guerrini Francesco, Iervolino Riccardo, Laurenzano Gabriele, Penna Gaetano, Posso Luca, Volpe Nicolò.
Acciari Nausica, Adriano Virginia, Batte Ilaria, Esposito Lisa, Gambini Arianna, Giuliani Dominika, Ituma Julia, Modesti Nicole, Munarini Matilde, Passaro Viola, Ribechi Manuela, Viscioni Giulia.

Tennis (2)
De Marchi Andrea.
Nosei Aurora.

(foto eyof2022.com)

Goodbye, Octavio Cinquanta! Malagò's condolences. Tomorrow a minute's silence in the Junta and National Council

• IOC

Ottavio Cinquanta has left us. A long-time ice sports executive in the 1950s, he was born on 15 August 1938 in Rome, graduated in business administration with a focus on management and marketing, and was a company manager in the chemical industry. After practising athletics, he took up ice hockey and later speed skating. Already in the early 1970s, he embarked on a career in sports management.

President of the Technical Committee (1973-1980), then Vice-President of the Italian Ice Sports Federation (1984-1988); appointed international referee at numerous World Championships and Olympic Winter Games. He was a member and President of the Technical Committee of the International Skating Union (ISU) (1975-1992); member (1975-1992), Vice-President (1992-1994) then President (1994-2016) of the International Skating Federation (ISU) itself, of which he has remained Honorary President since 2016.

He was a Member of the IOC, in the International Federation quota, from 1996 to 2016 (as a Member of the CONI National Council and Board). He took part in the IOC Executive Committee as an International Winter Federation representative (2000-2008) and was a member of the following IOC Commissions: Olympic Movement (1994-1999), Olympic Solidarity (1994-2001), Coordination for the XIX Olympic Winter Games in 2002 in Salt Lake City (1996-2002), 'IOC 2000' (Executive Committee, 1999), Marketing (2002-), TV Rights and New Media (2002-2015), Follow-up of the 'IOC 2000' reform (2002) Coordination of the XXI Olympic Winter Games in 2010 in Vancouver (2003-2010), Coordination of the XXII Olympic Winter Games in 2014 in Sochi (2007-2014), Coordination of the 1st Olympic Winter Youth Games in 2012 in Innsbruck (2009-2012), Coordination of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games in 2018 in PyeongChang (2011- 2018).

His management of the International Federation was responsible for introducing short track into the Olympic programme and reforming jury evaluations in figure skating.

Upon hearing the news, CONI President Giovanni Malagò called for a minute's silence in the National Council and Board and expressed his deep condolences to the family, also on behalf of all Italian sport, for the loss of a great leader who had given so much to the development of sport and prestige in the international arena.

Covid-19 pandemic costs Italy 1.760 million members but does not erase the desire to play sport

• "THE NUMBERS OF SPORTS 2019-2020" PRESENTED

One million 760,000 fewer members and 5166 fewer amateur associations and clubs. So much has the Covid-19 pandemic cost the Italian sports system. This is what emerges from the report 'I Numeri dello Sport 2019-2020' elaborated by CONI's Centre for Studies and Statistical Offices and presented today at the Foro Italico by the President of the Italian National Olympic Committee, Giovanni Malagò, the President of ISTAT, Gian Carlo Blangiardo and the Secretary General of CONI, Carlo Mornati.

In 2020, the sports movement promoted under the aegis of CONI collected more than 13 million 113 thousand registered members and 115 thousand sports clubs, registering, compared to the previous year, a decrease of more than 1,760 million registered members/registered members to be attributed mainly to the health emergency caused by the pandemic. Overall, there are 11 million 857 thousand registered or practising athletes in 2020; 731 thousand are managers; 490 thousand technicians and 101 thousand officials.

In detail, the self-declarations of the Sports Promotion Bodies (EPS) - provided to the CONI Sports Recognition Office - for 2020 also identify 7,637 million practitioners (approximately 1.3 million less than the pre-Covid 19 year), 234 thousand sports managers, and 225 thousand coaches registered by the EPS through the ASDs and SSDs affiliated to and registered with the CONI Register.

After the boom in memberships driven by the Azzurri's victories in Rio 2016, in the four-year Olympic period 2017-2020, the general trends were affected by influences related to the unfavourable economic situation, the demographic decline and the related intergenerational imbalance of the population, as well as the uncertainties generated by the reform of the sports sector and ultimately the Covid-19 health emergency.

The pandemic and the first lockdown, with the impossibility of being able to carry out non-competitive activities in indoor venues or educational-promotional activities in school gyms, inevitably had an impact on federal activities, especially those of a promotional-scholastic nature, with the most noticeable percentage changes being seen among EPS enrolments: -14.4 per cent of practitioners and -12.5 per cent of sports operators, while the decreases for FSN and DSA are smaller: -7.9% athletes -3.2% sports operators. In contrast, only 14 out of 61 FSN-DSA federations experienced an increase in the number of members.

Memberships also declined: 146,961 (compared to 154,128 in 2019), with the number of Amateur Sports Associations/Societies registered in the CONI Register increasing from 120,635 to 115,469 separate legal entities.  

Factors that mitigated the loss of membership include the facilitations provided for membership and affiliations, the practice of remote sporting activities during the lock-down or carried out outdoors in the summer season, and the consolidation of certain federal sectors related to the new sporting disciplines approved in recent years.

In 2020, 71.6 per cent of the registered members are gathered in ten federations: led by football (1,024,726 athletes), tennis (325,954), volleyball (308,169), basketball (293,090) and athletics (211,771). In terms of the number of sports clubs, football (11,915), volleyball (4,331), basketball (3,299), tennis (3,168) and cycling (2,980) stand out. Among the DSAs, draughts (46,551 athletes) and, in terms of the number of clubs, sports billiards (860) stand out.

71.8% of registered athletes, sportsmen, and women for FSN and DSA are men, and 53.6% are under 18. Among FSN athletes, 34.9% are registered in football, 8.9% in basketball and 8.3% in tennis. Female athletes, on the other hand, mainly opted for volleyball (21.4%, around 235,000), gymnastics (10.4%) and equestrian sports (8.3%). The number of female managers is on the rise, occupying 12.7% of federal offices (+1.8%), the first effects of the reforms introduced by CONI.

The federal sports world suffers from Italy's historical territorial divide. In the North, 56% of the athletes and 48% of the Italian sports clubs are concentrated, mainly in the North-West regions. In the Centre, 22% of athletes reside, and 22% of sports clubs operate. In the South, the incidence is 22% of athletes and 30% of clubsLombardy is the region with the highest number of registered athletes (806,736) and sports clubs (9,165) and accounts for weight of19 % of national membership. With 32.63% of the membership (1,377,032) gathered in the three regions (Lombardy, Veneto and Trentino Alto-Adige) that will host the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Games.

'We are resuming this old and healthy habit between ISTAT and CONI, two public bodies, with the burdens and honours of being in the public domain,' said Malagò opening the presentation. The habit of telling what happened is not only important but a duty. We do so with the most authoritative interlocutor, whom we thank for his extraordinary cooperation. These figures are heavily skewed by what has happened not only in our country and cannot be disregarded. It must also be taken into account that in the area of memberships and affiliations, there are federations that make memberships during the calendar year and others during the sporting year. The number of members has fallen to 2008 levels. There was also a drop in membership, but honestly, we would have thought the numbers would be higher. Despite the widespread trend in our country's sporting culture, there will also be a significant loss in the sporting year 2021. These are very important figures, and I would also like to emphasise that the demographic aspect is the first concern of our world, which those in charge must answer. Italy is stuck at an apparent figure of 60 million. We are working on the human material that in 20 years has lost 5 million Italians, normally the people we use to make our country great in sports. Suppose we lose 5 million in 20 years, even though we have the best technicians and absolutely the best organisation. In that case, it is clear that if something does not happen, it will be impossible to achieve the results that made us a model to imitate.

'The CONI data assume an inevitable decline after the pandemic year,' added Mornati. These numbers help us understand sectoral trends and allow us to reflect on the future impact of the birth rate factor. When the basin dries up, a fabric of almost 5 million potential athletes disappears, as seen from the trend over the last 25 years. We will see the effect on team sports in the future, but those entering the competitive phase for two years have disappeared. In three years, we will understand the effects of what has occurred'.

Membership numbers are falling but, according to ISTAT surveys in the year 2021, sedentary behaviour continues to decrease - to 33.7 % - (to 35.2 % in 2020, while it was as high as 41.2 % in 2013), even if continuous sports practice among the youngest is decreasing (at the same time, the proportion of 6-14 year-olds who practised sport three or more times a week has fallen sharply), with increasing sedentary behaviour precisely among adolescents: those who have paid, more than others, for a health emergency that has conditioned their lifestyles and sports-related behaviour. In 2022, however, a return to normality in this age group is expected.

More generally, despite the difficulties, the population still tried to remain physically active. However, how sports were practised has changed, often in an unstructured way: the proportion of those who practised sport in paid venues (especially among women), who took lessons or paid a fee has fallen.

'The practice of sport is fundamental because sport is enjoyable and it is health, a way to improve the quality of life,' Blangiardo pointed out. Sport is also an economy, and the changes that take place affect this sector. A real storm happened with the pandemic. In some ways, there has been some progress in the practice of sports, we are a country in which there is increasing physical activity, but with the pandemic, the first important sign we see is that teenagers locked up at home who have suffered a lack of sporting and socialising activity. More generally, we have to work harder in sports than in other European countries'. 

Moreover, the impact of the health (and economic) emergency has been very strong: in 2021, only 12.7 per cent of the households residing in Italy (3 million 300 thousand) incurred expenses for sports activities (they were 22.9 per cent in 2019); again in 2021, 2.3 per cent (600 thousand households) incurred expenses for sports items, compared to 3.1 per cent in 2019. Moreover, young and large families bear the costs of sporting activity the most, and the current economic situation could precisely reduce the practice of sport in families with fewer economic resources.

The contraction in spending inevitably affected the sector's workforce, estimated at 104,000, down from 2020 (128,000) and 2019 (132,000).

The desire to play sport, which has not succumbed to the pandemic, nevertheless represents an important base from which to restart while ensuring that the resumption of sporting activity is uniform across the territory and does not accentuate the disadvantage of the South and small municipalities. (foto Pagliaricci CONI)

The flag of the Games lands in Italy. Malagò, 'from today burdens and honours to Taranto 2026'

• MEDITERRANEAN GAMES

The Taranto 2026 adventure begins. The flag of the Mediterranean Games landed in Fiumicino this afternoon, waved by Rinaldo Melucci, mayor of the Apulian city that will host the event in four years, receiving the baton from Oran 2022. Receiving the blue banner with the three rings, which landed together with the Italian team that had returned from Algeria and was led by CONI Secretary General Carlo Moranti and Head of Mission Giampiero Pastore, were the President of the Italian National Olympic Committee, Giovanni Malagò; the Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Manlio Di Stefano; and the Vice-President External Relations and Sustainability of Aeroporti di Roma, Veronica Pamio.

'The flag of the Mediterranean Games is not only symbolic,' Malagò emphasised at a press conference at Fiumicino's Terminal 5. From now on, there is us, with all the burdens and all the honours of candidacy. If you look at the roll of honour of the event, I think none of the champions of Italian sport is missing. I am thinking, for example, of Pietro Mennea, Alessia Filippi, and Federica Pellegrini: this is the best wish I can wish Italy and Taranto for the next edition'.

'It is a good moment for Italian sport, and I want to congratulate the athletes. It is a pleasure for us, as Farnesina, to support the sports movement and the Mediterranean Games. Whichever way you look at it, sport is an asset to the country. It is welfare, GDP, soft power, diplomacy: thanks to sports, you can speak all the world languages, said Undersecretary Di Stefano.

'We are proud to be able to put ourselves at the disposal of Italian sport, of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) and more generally of the values of sport. We want to work as a system. We want to do our part in promoting Italy's excellence abroad,' said Veronica Pamio.

Carrying the flag to Italy was Mayor Melucci: 'The Mediterranean Games will change the destiny of an entire community. We are convinced of that. Taranto is no longer the city of Ilva, but a city that has moved on and wants to prove it through sport as well. This event is not just a sporting event,' continued the first citizen of the Apulian city. 'In 2019, the candidature hypothesis was born, then one day, Giovanni Malagò called me and said: 'We want to stand the city on our shoulders, we want to do something for Taranto'. I want to thank him, Carlo Mornati and the entire CONI structure. They have set up an excellent system, proving that we are good when we work as a system. Coni has excellent managers capable of making the sports system run great'.

Also returning from Algeria was International Committee President Davide Tizzano. 'We have been working for more than three years on the Taranto 2026 project. We have clear ideas about what we want to do, and I thank the Apulian institutions because they have fully entered into the mission of the Games. It is not only sport. We are also acquiring geopolitical centrality: Italy is an important reference point for all 25 countries. It is an opportunity to reaffirm our reliability and consistency'.

Tizzano then honoured Malagò for the victory of the Italia Team - represented today in the conference by Apulian athletes Maristella Smiraglia (taekwondo), swimming gold medallist Simone Stefanì and football silver medallist Gabriele Guarino - in the Oran 2022 medal competition.

'If you win the medal table for the fifth consecutive time, it may seem like a foregone conclusion, but it is not. On the contrary, winning is getting more complicated because the international calendar is packed. And if we had not won, someone would have pointed it out,' said Malagò. 'This event is sporting excellence. Compared to other Olympic, world and continental competitions, the Mediterranean Games may be considered of a lower technical level but represent a showcase, an opportunity more unique than rare. Not surprisingly, 24 of the 26 participating countries won at least one medal. And I would like to mention that there are France, Spain, Greece, the Balkan countries and also Turkey, where this competition is the ultimate goal'. (foto Ferraro CONI)