Giovanni Pellielo elected to the Athletes Commission of the International Committee of the Mediterranean Games

• CIJM

Giovanni Pellielo, timeless Skeet Shooting champion and Italian flag bearer at Tarragona 2018, was elected to the Athletes Commission of the International Committee of the Mediterranean Games. Together with the four-time Olympic medallist the following also joined the body: the Spanish swimmer, Mireia Belmonte (Chair), the Greek gymnast Vassilik Milllousi and the Algerian boxer, Mohamed Flissi. The Commission was created in November 2013 and is composed of 2 men and 2 women to comply with gender equality: the candidates must have participated in at least one of the last 3 Games. Among the ten candidates were - in addition to the Judo Olympic medallist and member of the National Council of CONI, Giulia Quintavalle - Bujas Celan (Croatia, Karate), Soraya Haddad (Algeria, Judo), Marijo Moznik (Croatia, Artistic Gumnastics), Tatar Askari (Turkey, Taekwondo) and Ibrahim Colak (Turkey, Artistic Gymnastics).

Italy mathematically wins the medal count of the Games

• TARRAGONA 2018

Italy wins the medal count of the XVIII Edition of the Mediterranean Games. The victory of the boxer, Di Serio, in fact gave the Italian athletes the mathematical certainty of 1st place in the special podium classification: with 49 gold medals their credit - and 139 medals overall - the Italian team cannot be reached by Spain - right behind -, at the moment stopped at 31 first places, with 17 potential victories still available to the Spaniards. An insufficient virtual number of wins to close the gap with Italy which is confirmed leader of the event for the fourth consecutive time (since Almeria 2005).

- 100 days until Buenos Aires 2018, they will be engaging and innovative Games

• YOG

Buenos Aires 2018 cuts the finish line of the -100 days. The countdown that marks the time until the opening ceremonies of the third Youth Summer Olympic Games (Youth Olympic Games) is moving fast. The same with the preparation work - the Athletes’ Village is ready - for an event that from 6 to 18 October will bring athletes from all over the world to the Argentine capital.

Admission to the inauguration ceremony of the Games, which will be held around the iconic Obelisk on Avenida 8 de Julio, will be free in accordance with the mission of bringing sports to the people of Buenos Aires. Just as access to the four city parks will be free so that the visitors can not only enjoy the competitions but also the festivals and side activities designed to make the event even more engaging. An event that will also be innovative from the point of view of the program, with thirty-two disciplines, including the new karate and sport climbing entries, which will début with the “big ones” in Tokyo 2020, break dancing and roller skating. 
In order to involve the Country and increase the expectation for these renewed Youth Olympic Games, the Flame will cross the length and breadth of Argentina, before arriving in the Capital and lighting the city on 6 October. 
A team of champions chosen as spokespersons of the event will instead motivate and advise the young athletes from all over the world who are qualifying to earn one of the 4000 passes at stake. The objective, also through the training of around 8300 volunteers, is to involve the Argentine youth as much as possible and to make sure that Buenos Aires 2018 has a long-term impact on its young population.

The curtain rises on Taragona 2018, Italy marches with the standard bearer, Pellielo

• OPENING CEREMONIES

The curtain rises on the 2018 XVIII Mediterranean Games of Tarragona. In a ceremony that celebrated the past of this ancient Roman colony which is about one hundred kilometres from Barcelona, the athletes of the 26 Countries participating painted the Estadi Club Gimnàstic with their smiles and their flags, under the gaze of King Felipe VI, present in the stands, together with the new Premier, Pedro Sanchez, the Mayor of Tarragona and the Chairman of the Organising Committee, Josep Félix Ballesteros, and the Chairman of the Catalogna Quim Torra and representatives of European sports, starting with the Chairman of the International Committee of the Mediterranean Games, Amar Addadi and the Secretary of the European Olympic Committees, Raffaele Pagnozzi. Also in the stands was Davide Tizzano, member of the Executive Committee of the Games, and various Federal Chairmen.

The Italian delegation (the largest at the Games with 409 athletes), entered the stadium around 9:29 p.m., after France and before Kosovo, in addition to the Mission Head, Anna Riccardi, it was captained by Giovanni “Johnny” Pellielo, timeless undisputed champion of Skeet Shooting who takes the baton from his team-mate, the Olympic athlete, Jessica Rossi - standard bearer in Mersin 2013 - becoming the oldest standard bearer of all time in the history of Italian multi-discipline events, with his 48 years (passing D’Inzeo, standard bearer at 43 in Mexico in 1968).

Starting today - the first Italians in archery, volley ball and football have already made their appearance - until the first of July, Team Italy will try to wave the Tricolour flag high. Starting tomorrow, when the first medals will be awarded of an event that focuses on uniting in the name of sports.

The countdown to Minsk 2019 begins, 365 days until the European Games

• #ONEYEARTOGO

One year until Minsk 2019, the official countdown begins for the second edition of the European Games that will be hosted in Belarus from 21 to 30 June 2019.

The clock was unveiled in the Capital today that will count down the minutes until the opening ceremonies and, for the event, the iconic Dinamo Stadium was reopened, after the restoration work, which will be one of the 12 competition venues. In compliance with the instructions included in the Agenda 2020 of the IOC which encourages the legacy and sustainability of sports events, 11 of these facilities already exist, with the exception of the beach soccer location which is newly built.

In the morning, a charity fun run started the day of celebrations for the second edition of the multi-sports event which debuted in Baku 2015 and is held every four years under the aegis of the European Olympic Committees.

The 2019 event, assigned during the 45th Meeting of the EOC which in fact was held in 2016 in Belarus, assumes particular significance because among the 15 sports on the schedule, 10 will qualify the European athletes for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

One year from an event that will schedule over 200 competitions that award medals, Minsk is fine tuning the last details to best introduce itself to the 4000 athletes expected in the Capital, together with 2000 technicians and officials representing 50 European Olympic Committees.

EURO 2020: The dates are official, the first competition will be held on 12 June at the Olimpico of Rome

• FOOTBALL

The Olympic Stadium of Rome will host on Friday, 12 June (9:00 p.m.) the inaugural match of UEFA EURO 2020. It will be the first travelling European Championship in the history of football which, to celebrate 60 years of competition, will be played in 12 different cities of the continent. The dates of all the tournament matches were made official today during the UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Kiev.
The Olympic Stadium of the capital will also be the site on Saturday, 4 July (9:00 p.m.) for one of the quarter finals, with the three other meetings to be held on 3 July in St. Petersburg (6:00 p.m.) and Munich (9:00 p.m.), the 4th in Baku (6:00 p.m.). Semi-final and final matches will be played in Wembley Stadium in London, on 7 and 8 July at 9:00 p.m. and 12 July at the same time.

THE UEFA EURO 2020 PATH The idea for a European for Europe (Euro for Europe) began in December 2012, when the proposal of the chairman at the time, Michel Platini, was approved by the UEFA Executive Committee in London. In April 2013 the invitation to submit the dossier was sent to the federations and the following September 32 expressions of interest were announced. On 25 April 2014, 19 cities submitted their application to UEFA: 2 (London and Munich) both for the standard package and for the final one; 17 for the standard package. On 10 September 2014, the technical assessment of UEFA was made official with a qualitative opinion on the applications. The document was sent to the members of the Executive Committee which, on 19 September in Geneva, awarded the semi-finals and final to London (Wembley), to Rome, Munich (Germany), St. Petersburg (Russia) and Baku (Azerbaijan) three matches of the first round and one quarter final; Copenhagen (Denmark), Bucharest (Romania), Amsterdam (Holland), Dublin (Ireland), Brussels (Belgium) Bilbao (Spain), Budapest (Hungary) and Glasgow (Scot;and) the first round matches and the round of sixteen.

On Wednesday, 17 June, and Sunday, 21 June (times to be defined) the other two matches of Group A will be played in Rome, chosen to host the opening game, while, as announced last 7 December, Baku will host the other three matches of the group on 13, 17 and 21 June. In the group stage, between two and four matches per day will be played from 12 to 24 June, while the round of 16 will be played from 27 to 30 June.

National Council Statement

• CONI

The 259th National Council of CONI met this afternoon at 16.00 in the Salone d’Onore of Foro Italico.

The start of the work was preceded by the awards related to the second edition of “Excellent Athlete, Excellent Student”, the competition established by the CNA Management Committee and approved by the CONI Board and addressed at young athletes of national interest included in the lists of the National Teams who earn a high school diploma in Italy. The representatives of the Athletes Commission, composed of Kelum Perera, Margherita Granbassi, Carlo Molfetta, Silvia Salis and Mara Santangelo, presented the following awards for 2017: Andrea Corsi (FIH), Giorgia Di Credico e Viola Donadello (FIPSAS), Alessandra Patelli (FIC), Sebastiano Poma (FIBS), Francesco Puppi e Laura Strati (FIDAL), Veronica Zappone (FISG), Silvia Zennaro (FIV), Giada Andreutti (FIDAL), Gianluca Allegretti (FIPSAS), Maria Beatrice Barberis (FIP), Ottavia Cestonaro (FIDAL), Elena Di Liddo (FIN), Francesca Dincao (FIT), Caterina Dotto (FIP), Eleonora Ferrero (FIDAL), Giulia Galligani (FIH), Sara Gama (FIGC), Francesca Genzo (FICK), Simone Marinai (FIGC), Giulia Pacella (FIH), Stefania Pirozzi (FIN), Alessia Polieri (FIN), Giulia Rulli (FIP), Arianna Talamona (FIN paralympic), Federica Tognalini (FIP), Maria Anna Szczepanska (FICK)

The National Council then discussed the following Agenda:

1) Approval of the minutes of the meeting on 09 April 2018: unanimously approved.

2) Statement by the President: Malagò opened the session with a moving speech about Rebecca Braglia, the young rugby player of Amatori Parma, who passed away last week. Afterwards the other people in the sporting world who had passed away in the last month were remembered and at the same time highlighted the significant results achieved by Italian athletes in the same period.

Malagò then discussed the subject of the Olympic applications, specifying that the procedures for the dialogue phase with Milan, Turin and Cortina d’Ampezzo has started and that the decision would be made during the summer months. Then the relations between the Agencies of Promotion, Federations and Associated Disciplines were discussed: the establishment is being considered, within the Guarantee Council, of a branch to be given the responsibility of resolving disputes between the various organisations. After the final approval of the CONI Articles of Association, during the National Council of July, the commissioners ad acta called to standardise the various federal articles of association with the main informers of the Body will be identified.

Then the focus was directed, by the Secretary General Carlo Mornati, on the organisational aspects linked to the preparation of Tokyo 2020 and the Mediterranean Games of Tarragona. Among the resolutions approved was the one relative to reducing the quota of non-EU nationals to 59. Lastly, the events that will be held in Rome and the Foro Italico next May were remembered (Final of the TIM CUP of football, International Tennis matches, Piazza di Siena, Golden Gala, Settecolli and the lef of the Giro d’Italia 2018). The National Council then saluted the re-election of Flavio Roda at the helm of the FISI and the journalist, Ruggero Palombo, who ended - after 23 years - his partnership with the Gazzetta dello Sport.

The following participated on the report and other subjects of a general nature: Mario Pescante (CIOmember), Margherita Granbassi (Athletes Commission), Alberto De Nigro (Auditor), Luciano Rossi (Skeet Shooting). 

3) F.S.N .- D.S.A. - E.P.S. activities: The following resolution was unanimously approved: Overall limit of 1090 admissions of foreign athletes from Countries not belonging to the European Community (59 less than 2017-2018)

4) Administrative Affairs and CONI Balance Sheet: The CONI 2017 Balance Sheet approved today unanimously by the National Council of CONI reports a break even result (+ € 0.208 mln), in line with the 2016 result and the closing estimated notified towards the end of last year.

The production value comes to € 445.7 mln, of which the principal components are represented by the MEF resources (€ 418.6 mln), by the contributions received from Ministries (€ 10/mil.), from commercial revenues for the use of the CONI trademark (€ 6.1mln), from contributions gathered from Local Bodies directly by the regional committees (€ 8.7 mln).

The production costs of € 445.1 mln were allocated mainly to the Federations for an amount over € 290 mln (about 65% of the total production cost). The other components of the production cost were represented by the contributions to the other bodies financed (€ 32.4 mln), by the share of the fee of the services contract referred to the activities carried out by the Company on CONI’s behalf (€ 59.3 mln. excl. VAT) by the amounts allocated to the State for VAT and in application of the containment rules on public spending (€ 24.4 mln, or 5% of the production cost), in addition to the costs incurred directly by the CONI regional committees (€ 25.6 mln, or 6% of the production cost). As there was no other business, the meeting came to an end at 17.21.

High level seminar “Combat corruption in sports toward a solid public-private alliance"

• CONI

On 19 April 2018, a high level seminar will be held at the Police Force Specialisation School (Piazza di Priscilla 6, Conference Room) in Rome on the issue of corruption in sports. The initiative is the result of collaboration between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the International Cooperation (MAECI), Presidency of the Council – Office for Sport, CONI and ANAC.

The event aimed at promoting practices of prevention and repression of corruption in the sports sector is consequent to the approval of the UNCAC Resolution 7/8 “Corruption in Sport”, adopted as an Italian proposal.

Activities are subdivided into three round tables. The first is dedicated to the international scenario on the issue with the participation of UNODC, OCSE, Council of Europe, UNESCO, CIO, European Commission, European Parliament and Transparency International. The second will look at the Italian scenario with the contribution of the national Authorities in charge of combating corruption in the sports environment. A third focus is reserved for integrity standards in the world of Italian sports. 

National Council Statement

• CONI

The 258th National Council of CONI met this afternoon at 16.30 in the Salone d’Onore of Foro Italico.

The following Agenda was discussed:

1) Approval of the minutes of the meeting of 12 March 2017: unanimously approved.

2) Statement by the President: Mr Malagò started the meeting by remembering the people in the sporting world who had passed away in the last month and highlighted the significant results achieved by Italian athletes in the same period. The President then discussed the subject of the 2026 Winter Games, reconstructing the dynamics that led CONI - in the last few weeks - to submit the applications of Milan/Turin/Cortina for the dialogue phase with the CIO.

Malagò reminded those present that every conversation is premature considering the fact that a Government has not been formed. Then the principal changes were presented connected to the fundamental principles of the Federal Articles of Association brought up for discussion and those anticipated by the integration of the Codice di Giustizia Sportiva (Sports Justice Code). The subject relative to the growing request for recognition by various disciplines was also discussed, hoping for international regulation of the overall picture.

Then the developments of “Sports and Suburbs” was discussed, and the now imminent Mediterranean Games scheduled for Tarragona at the end June. Focus was then shifted to Tokyo 2020, for the logistics discussions connected to the last phase of the preparation of the team and the selections relative to Casa Italia. The date of 3 June was then made official for the celebrations of the annual National Day of Sports, which will be combined with the subject of the environment. 

Regarding the report and the other subjects of a general nature, following the summary of Massimo Proto and Francesco Soro on the technical aspects of the regulatory changes, the following spoke: Giorgio Scarso (Fencing), Michele Maffei (Representative Meritorious Sports Associations), Andrea Mancino (Sports Promotion Associations), Claudio Matteoli (Sport Fishing and Underwater Activities), Vincenzo Iaconianni (Speed Boat Racing), Sabatino Aracu (Roller Sports), Michele Barbone (Sport Dance), Alfio Giomi (Athletics), Luciano Buonfiglio (Canoe), Ugo Salines (Sports Promotion Associations), Raffaella Masciadri (Athletes Commission), Orazio Arancio (Commission of Technicians).

3) F.S.N .- D.S.A. - E.P.S. activities: The following resolutions were unanimously approved: 1) New fundamental principles of the articles of association of the FSN and DSA 2) Approval of the changes to the Sports Justice Code, pursuant to Article 6, paragraph 4, letter B of the CONI Articles of Association 3) Change to Article 11 of the Organization and Operating Regulation of the Sports Power of Attorney, pursuant to Art. 12 ter of the CONI Articles of Association. As there was no other business, the meeting came to an end at 18.35.

Press Release - 2026 Olympic Winter Games

• CONI

The Italian National Olympic Committee has informed the International Olympic Committee of its desire to proceed with the Dialogue Phase for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, which had already been initiated over the previous months following the invitation received from the IOC on 29 September 2017.

Due to the need to comply with the formal due date specified by the IOC and following numerous meetings and communications with the heads of the International Olympic Committee, CONI expressed this intention in a letter, declaring the candidatures of the City of Milan/Turin.

This letter also explicitly stated that CONI is awaiting the formation of the new government to which, adhering to the times and methods agreed, it shall present a feasibility study, already completed at the beginning of 2018, for a comprehensive evaluation of the entire project, which could benefit the whole of Italy, even in the light of the cost reductions in the 2020 Agenda.

CONI notes that the dialogue phase involves collaboration between CONI, the City and the IOC in order to identify the best solution for the needs of the country, therefore considering the possibility, as part of a joint project, of expanding potential solutions for the different Olympic competitions to other areas.

Following the dialogue phase, in view of its technical expertise and in compliance with the Olympic Charter, it will be the IOC alone to make the decision regarding which City will be invited to be the official candidate for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

For additional comments, CONI would like to draw attention to the IOC communications scheduled for Tuesday 3 April.

The Italian National Olympic Committee, after publishing the press release in which it announced the intention to continue in the phase of dialogue for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games with the City of Milan/Turin, received a letter this afternoon from the Mayor of Cortina and a letter from the President of the Veneto Region in which they express their interest in entering the phase of dialogue for the same candidacy process with the city of Cortina.
CONI forwarded the two letters properly to the CIO General Director in the common interest of identifying the best scenario for the Italian territory.