Buonfiglio and Mornati meet IOC President in Lausanne: “Reaffirmed CONI’s central role, now we await Coventry in Rome”

CONI

30 September 2025

images/1-Primo-Piano-2025/Buonfiglio_Coventry_Mornati_Losanna_2025.jpg

The President of CONI, Luciano Buonfiglio, met this afternoon in Lausanne with the President of the International Olympic Committee, Kirsty Coventry. Buonfiglio was accompanied by General Secretary Carlo Mornati, while IOC Honour Member Francesco Ricci Bitti also attended the meeting.

During the talks (photo credit: Greg Martin/IOC), which lasted around an hour, several sporting matters were addressed, beginning with the forthcoming Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Games. Buonfiglio and Coventry reflected on their recent exchanges with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, with both expressing great satisfaction with the dialogue. Discussion also focused on the governance of the 2028 Youth Olympic Games in Dolomiti Valtellina, as well as CONI’s development programmes for the Olympic cycle leading up to Los Angeles 2028.

Coventry welcomed the fact that both the CONI President and Secretary General are former Olympians (Mornati also won a silver medal at Sydney 2000, the edition where Coventry made her debut as a 17-year-old). She presented both men with the “Olympian” certificate, personally signed by her, and voiced appreciation for the continuity of CONI’s operational structure, remarking: “We have always worked well together and built a strong understanding”.

Buonfiglio and Mornati extended an invitation to the IOC President to visit Rome, where she will be hosted at CONI’s Olympic Preparation Centre “Giulio Onesti” and at Casa Italia during Milano Cortina 2026.

Earlier in the day, CONI’s leadership also held operational meetings with James McLeod, Director of the IOC’s NOC Relations Department, who also oversees Olympic Solidarity and the Olympism365 project, joined by Jerome Poivey and Nils Holmegaard.

Commenting after the meeting, Buonfiglio said: “I am very pleased with this day at the IOC headquarters. You can truly breathe the Olympic spirit here. This visit had been scheduled for some time, dating back to August when our agendas aligned. President Coventry struck me as determined and motivated. We reaffirmed to her CONI’s central role in sports policy and in relations with the Government. On Milano Cortina 2026 she has clear ideas and appreciates the financial commitment made by the Italian Executive. I look forward to welcoming her to Rome by the end of the year so that we can return the hospitality at our Olympic Preparation Centre – a facility admired and praised worldwide”.

Mornati added: “We are in constant contact with the IOC offices. Dialogue with James McLeod and his team is always steady. We have important projects to pursue with the IOC in the coming months. We are truly grateful for the way we were welcomed. CONI has always been a point of reference for the Olympic Movement, and today we received further confirmation of this”.