Italy's top domestic league, the Serie A, is one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the world and it is often depicted as the most tactical national football league.[15]Serie A clubs have seen success in the Champions League (formerly the European Cup), the premier European club competition, winning it twelve times. Italy's club sides have won 48 major European trophies, making them the second most successful nation in European football. Serie A hosts three of the world's most famous clubs as Juventus, Milan and Inter, all founding members of the G-14, a group which represented the largest and most prestigious European football clubs; Serie A was the only league to produce three founding members. Juventus, Milan and Inter, along with Roma, Fiorentina, Lazio and historically Parma, but now Napoli, are known as the Seven Sisters of Italian football.[16] The Italian word for soccer is calcio, "kick", taken from the name of Italy's traditional football games, as opposed to being adapted from the English name football or soccer, as in most other languages. Often, Italian children can be seen playing on the street with friends and relatives.
The history of football in Italy gives much of the explanation behind why it has remained such a popular sport today. The first record of an Italian football team goes back to 1893. This team was named FC Genoa. The sport was brought to Italy through the Romans, who used to play a very similar game called harpastum, which included two teams aiming to score on their opponents side (hands could be used along with feet). Years later, the Renaissance brought about big changes for not only the art and culture of Italy, but also for sport. Specifically, Florence was the spot where the most changes occurred. Football of the past was different from that of today as teams were much larger with 27 people. Also, the games were only 50 minutes long. Today, the games consist of two 45 minute halves. The Italy National team first began playing in 1910 in the FIFA World Cup.[17] To the surprise of many fans, the Italy National Team did not qualify for the tournament in 2017. This was the first time in sixty years that the team did not make the World Cup after losing to Sweden. The loss was published in popular sport newspapers in Italy such as La Gazzetta dello Sport, which is one of the largest selling newspapers in Italy.[18]
Carolina Morace legendary figure in Italian women's football, Carolina Morace was a prolific striker who played for the Italian national team and also served as their coach.
Stadiums have also become more than a place to watch a football game today. All across Italy, stadiums now include various different things such as museums, shops, and restaurants for the people attending the game to enjoy. Italian football stadiums also host other venues such as concerts, rugby matches, and field and track.[19] Italy takes pride in their football stadiums and have some of the most well known in the world. Most Italian stadiums have stadium tours where children six and under are allowed to go for free . The city of Milan stadium, which is also known as the San Siro stadium, has the biggest seating capacity in Italy with 80,018 seats.[20] The stadium is also known in the country as "La Scala del Calcio." It is also known as the "Giuseppe Meazza" stadium after the Italian star, Giuseppe Meazza.[19] The San Siro stadium has hosted four UEFA Champions League finals. This stadium is where the rival teams AC Milan and Internazionale play. The two clubs meet twice a year and the matches between these two clubs are known as the Derby della Madonnina. It is called Derby della Madonnina in honour of one of the main sights in the city of Milan, the statue of the Virgin Mary on the top of the Duomo, which is often referred to as the Madonnina ("Little Madonna" in Italian). Another famous stadium in Italy is the Stadio Olimpico. This stadium is the second largest in Italy and is where the rival teams AS Roma and SS Lazio play. The two clubs meet twice a year and the matches between these two clubs are known as the Derby della Capitale (Derby of the Capital). Also, the Stadio Olimpico holds the Coppa Italia Final.[20]
Being a football country, Italy has some all-time great players that have played for them. More players have won the coveted Ballon d'Or award while playing in Serie A than any other league in the world, except La Liga. Fabio Cannavaro played professional football from 1992 to 2011. He is among only one of three defenders to have been named FIFA's Player of the Year. Cannavaro won the award in 2006 which is the same year he also helped Italy reach the finals of the World Cup. Another one of Italy's all-time great football players was Dino Zoff. Zoff played goalie for Italy, and at 40 years old he became the oldest player to win the World Cup. Also, Dino holds the record for the longest time without giving up a goal at an international tournament with 1,142 minutes. His club play includes six Serie A titles. After retiring from playing football, Dino later became a coach. Another great Italian football player was Giuseppe Meazza. Meazza scored 33 goals in his 53 World Cup appearances. Meazza has the second most goals scored for Italy all time since he is only two goals behind Gigi Riva. Giuseppe won two World Cup's with Italy as well as winning three Serie A titles and one Coppa Italia title.[19]
The Italy men's national water polo team represents Italy in men's international water polo (pallanuoto in Italian) competitions. The national men's team has the nickname of Settebello, a reference to both the Italian card game scopa and a standard water polo team having seven players.[24] The Italian men's water polo team has won 8 Olympic medals, 7 World Championships, 5 World Cup, 11 European Championships medals and 3 World League medals, making them one of the most successful men's water polo teams in the world. They have won a combined twelve championships in those five competitions, with the World League, the last competition which Italy won in 2022.
On the second Sunday of October in the Gulf of Trieste the Barcolana is held: established in 1969, it is today the largest regatta in the world.[27] The Barcolana became the Guinness World Record holder in February 2019 when it was named "the greatest sailing race" with its 2,689 boats and over 16,000 sailors on the starting line.[28] The Barcolana is organized by the yacht club Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano. Thanks to its particular formula, the Barcolana is a unique event on the international sailing stage: on the same starting line expert sailors and sailing lovers race side by side on boats of different sizes divided into several divisions according to their overall length.[29] Still on the subject of boat racing, another noteworthy race is the Regatta of the Historical Marine Republics. The Regatta of the Historical Maritime Republics is a sporting event of historical re-enactment, established in 1955 with the aim of recalling the rivalry of the most famous Italian maritime republics: those of Republic of Amalfi, Republic of Pisa, Republic of Genoa and Republic of Venice, during which four rowing crews representing each of the republics compete against each other. This event, held under the patronage of the President of Italy,[30] takes place every year on a day between the end of May and the beginning of July, and is hosted in rotation between these cities.
In 1972, synchronized swimming (nuoto sincronizzato in Italian) took hold in Italy, thanks to the commitment of a swimming teacher at the Lanciani swimming pool in Rome, who decided to let boys and girls try to train the alternating backstroke, rhythmizing the movements.[31] In 1976 the first synchronized swimming team was formed, the "clams", made up of seven girls and one boy.[31] At the Italian swimming pools athletes and swimming teachers began to study and practice the discipline, teaching it and making the sport grow.
Towards the end of the 19th century the diving (tuffi in Italian) also spread to Italy and in particular to Rome where the Ponte Milvio became an ideal place for acrobatics on the Tiber.[32] In Italy, the first national diving championship was held in 1900 in Milan, at Bagni di Diana.[32] Notable Italian diver is Klaus Dibiasi, while noteworthy Italian free-diver is Enzo Maiorca.[22]
Cycling (ciclismo in Italian) is a well-represented sport in Italy. Bicycle racing is a familiar sport in the country.[38]Italians have won the World Cycling Championshipmore than any other country, except Belgium. The Giro d'Italia is a world-famous long-distance cycling race held every May, and constitutes one of the three Grand Tours, along with the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España, each of which last approximately three weeks. The race has been held annually since its first edition in 1909, except during the two world wars.[39] As the Giro gained prominence and popularity the race was lengthened, and the peloton expanded from primarily Italian participation to riders from all over the world. The Giro is a UCI World Tour event, which means that the teams that compete in the race are mostly UCI WorldTeams, with some additional teams invited as 'wild cards'.[40][41] The rider with the lowest aggregate time is the leader of the general classification and wears the pink jersey.
Giorgia Bronzini cyclist specializing in road and track events, known for her sprinting abilities and multiple world championship titles in track cycling.
Two of the five 'Monuments', the oldest and most prestigious one-day races on the cycling calendar, are located in Italy: Milan–San Remo, held in March, and Giro di Lombardia, held in September or October. The Milan–San Remo, also called "The Spring classic" or "La Classicissima", is an annual road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance of 298km (~185.2 miles) it is the longest professional one-day race in modern cycling. It is the first major classic race of the season. The first edition was held in 1907.[42] The Giro di Lombardia, officially Il Lombardia, is a cycling race in Lombardy, Italy.[43] It is traditionally the last of the five 'Monuments' of the season, considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in cycling, and one of the last events on the UCI World Tour calendar. Nicknamed the Classica delle foglie morte ("the Classic of the falling (dead) leaves"), it is the most important Autumn Classic in cycling. The race's most famous climb is the Madonna del Ghisallo in the race finale. Because of its demanding course, the race is considered a climbers classic, favouring climbers with a strong sprint finish.
Rugby union (rugby a 15 in Italian) enjoys a good level of popularity, especially in the north of the country. From the 2010–11 season, Italy has had two teams in the Pro12, previously an all-Celtic competition, involving teams from Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.[44] To accommodate this move, the country's National Championship of Excellence effectively became a semi-professional developmental competition. The two Pro12 sides took up Italy's existing places in the elite Europe-wide club competition, then known as the Heineken Cup and now as the European Rugby Champions Cup, and four Eccellenza sides compete in the second-tier European Rugby Challenge Cup. Italy's national team competes since 2000 in the Six Nations Championship, and is a regular at the Rugby World Cup, despite having yet to pass the group stage. Italy are classed as a tier-one nation by World Rugby.[45]
Rugby union's traditional heartland consisted of the small country towns in the Po Valley, and other parts of Northern Italy.[48] One version says that Italian workers returning from France, particularly the south, introduced the game there, and gave it a significant rural/working class base, which still exists in towns such as Treviso and Rovigo.[48] A demonstration game was also played in 1910, in Turin between Racing Club Paris and Servette of Geneva. The Top10, known as the Peroni Top10 for sponsorship reasons, and formerly Top 12, is Italy's top level professional men's rugby union competition. The Top 10 is run by Italian Rugby Federation and is contested by 10 teams, following the Italian federation's decision to name Peroni as the official partner of the Top10 competition. Notable Italian players include Ivan Francescato, Paolo Vaccari, Carlo Checchinato, Massimo Giovanelli, Mauro and Mirco Bergamasco, and Sergio Parisse.[48]
Tennis has a significant following near courts and by television. Italian professional tennis players are always in the top 100 world's ranking of male and female players. The Rome Masters, founded in 1930, is one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments in the world.[49]Beach tennis with paddle racquet was invented by Italians, and is practiced by many people across the country.[50]
Alpine skiing or ski (sci in Italian) is a very popular sport in Italy, with more than 2,000,000 skiers, most of them in the northern regions near the Alps and in the central provinces near the Apennine Mountains.[53] Italian skiers have achieved good results in the Winter Olympic Games, World Cup, and World Championship, most notably Zeno Colò, Gustavo Thoeni, who won 4 Overall World Cups between 1970 and 1975; Piero Gros, who was Overall World Cup champion in 1974, and Alberto Tomba who won the Overall World Cup in 1995. Tomba, Deborah Compagnoni, and Isolde Kostner received many medals in different editions of the Winter Olympic Games. Giorgio Rocca and Manfred Mölgg won the Slalom World Cup in 2006 and 2008 respectively, whilst Giuliano Razzoli was Olympic slalom champion in 2010.
Figure skating (pattinaggio di figura in Italian) is a popular sport and professional figure skaters often starring in events of exhibition. Notable Italian athlete in figure skating is Carolina Kostner.[56]
Bobsleigh (bob in Italian) is very followed, because Italian bobsledder Eugenio Monti was the most successful athlete in the international history of this sport.[57]
In Italy, bodybuilding is at the 10th place in the ranking of most popular sports, even considering the high number of people who engage in body building gym, as amateur, just to keep fit themselves.[59]
Hippodrome of San Siro (Italian: Ippodromo di San Siro) is a horse racing venue in the city of Milan, which takes its name from the neighborhood of the same name in which it is located. Designed in 1913 to replace the then-used Trotter in Via Padova, the Hippodrome of San Siro was inaugurated on 25 July 1920, with its construction work being slowed down due to the World War I.[66] In 1999 a statue of Leonardo's horse was placed in the square in front of the racecourse.[67] It is owned by Snaitech.[68]
Baseball is a growing, minor sport in Italy.[71][72] Introduced to Italy by American servicemen during World War II, professional baseball leagues were not established until after the war. The Italy national baseball team is traditionally ranked as the second best team in Europe, behind the Dutch national team.[73] Italy's performance during the Olympics has been consistently high for a European team, but is noted for its reliance on American and Latino players of Italian descent. The highest level of play in Italy today is considered to be on par with Class A ball in the United States.[74] The Italian Baseball League is the highest level of professional baseball in Italy.[75]
Cricket
The Italy national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Italy in international cricket matches. They have been an associate member of the International Cricket Council since 1995, having previously been an affiliate member since 1984.[76] The team is administered by the Federazione Cricket Italiana (Italian Cricket Federation). They are currently ranked 25th in the world by the ICC, and are ranked fifth amongst European non-Test teams.[77] The Italy national cricket team has won several European Cricket tournaments, and the popularity of cricket is rising. All the Italian cricketers are home grown cricketers, and they had a well off position in the recent European Indoor Cricket Tournament and the European Cricket Championship. They recently participated in the ICC World Cricket League Division 4.
Handball
The Serie A is the name of the highest level handball (pallamano in Italian) league of Italy. Pallamano Trieste is the championship's most successful club with seventeen titles. The Serie A1 is the premier division of the Italian women's handball national league. Established in 1970, it is currently contested by 13 clubs.[78]PF Cassano Magnago is the championship's most successful club with eleven titles in a row between 1986 and 1996, while Jomi Salerno has been the most successful team in the 21st century so far with seven titles between 2004 and 2019.
Italian Hockey League - Serie A, formerly known as Serie A, is the top tier of professional ice hockey in Italy, which first began play in 1925. They are conducted under the authority of the Federazione Italiana Sport del Ghiaccio (FISG). The league initially merged with the Inter-National League to become the Alps Hockey League in 2016.[81] Italian teams in the Alps Hockey League also compete in the Italian Hockey League - Serie A. The league was known as Elite.A during the 2013–14 season,[82] and as Italian Hockey League - Elite during the 2017-2018 season.[83]
They are followed by the champions of the present, Max Biaggi, Loris Capirossi, and in particular Valentino Rossi, who has won 89 Grands Prix and 9 World Championships, being the only motorcycle racer to have won their world titles in 4 classes: one each in the 125cc, 250cc and 500cc, and six in the MotoGP.[96] The Bianchi, Aprilia, Beta, Cagiva, Gilera, Guzzi, MV Agusta, TM Racing, Benelli e Ducati brands have won the most prestigious races and won world championships in all categories.
Tony Cairoli is the most titled Italian in Motocross, while in the women's category (WMX) Kiara Fontanesi is the most titled in the world, with six championships won, four of which were in a row.
Powerboating (motonautica in Italian) has a long history linked to the Italian country. With the founding of the Italian Motorboat Federation in 1923, whose president was Prince Ferdinando, Duke of Genoa, this sport immediately attracted prominent personalities of the time with frequenters of the first major events including Guglielmo Marconi, Benito Mussolini and Gabriele D'Annunzio. This sport in Italy has grown in particular from the 1970s onwards and counts Angelo Moratti and subsequently Massimo Moratti among the presidents of its federation. In 1929 the Pavia-Venice Raid was born, the longest powerboat race in the world at the time. In the 1930s, Gabbriele D'Annunzio offered the Oltranza Cup for the Gardone Riviera races. The main centers of the Italian Power Force settled in the Lombardy area and in particular in Como, Milan.[98]
Renato Molinari is one of the greatest in Italian powerboating, a driver with exceptional skills, multiple world champion in Formula 1 and in many other international categories. More recently, Guido Cappellini is a champion who, in the most important international class, Formula 1, has won more world championships than anyone else in history.[97] In modern powerboating, Alex Carella (four-time world champion) and Francesco Cantando race among the top ranks. In addition to the motorboat Formula 1, the Aquabike World Championship (jet ski) was held in the waters of Piedmont, Lombardy, Apulia, and Sardinia.
Golf
Golf is played by over 90,000 registered players, as of 2021.[99] There are several male and female professional players, with notable current players including Costantino Rocca, the brothers Edoardo, and Francesco Molinari, and Matteo Manassero. The most important tournament is the Italian Open. The Molinari brothers won the World Cup of Golf in 2009. The Ryder Cup 2023 will also take place in Rome for the first time.
At the turn of the millennium, Italy showed a growing quality in the discipline, with Susanna Marchesi finishing 9th at the Individual All Around competition, as well as the team winning 6th place in the 2000 Summer Olympics. Italy won the silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and came in at 4th place at the 2008 Summer Olympics. They also collected a string of medals throughout the 2005–2008 Olympic cycle.[107] At the 2009 Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship in Mie, Japan, the team soared to first place, winning the gold medal and becoming the new queens, a feat they achieved again at the 2010 Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship in Moscow. The celebration of Italian gymnastics is because they are among the best squads in the world, facing competitions against the Eastern European block of nations: Belarus, Russia, and Bulgaria. Vanessa Ferrari was multiple world and European champion of artistic gymnastics.
Although lacrosse tournaments and competitions have been held in Italy since 2002,[110] the first official edition of the championship dates back to the 2009-2010 season. The most successful team is the Pellicani Bocconi of Milan. Lacrosse in Italy is governed by the Italian Lacrosse Federation, which was founded in 2007. The Italy national lacrosse team has qualified for the World Lacrosse Championship six consequtive times (2006-2024). At the most recent event U20 Women's Lacrosse World Championship in Hong Kong, China, it finished 8th out of 20.
Floorball
The Italian Floorball Championship is divided into two different leagues, Campo Grande ("great field"), which takes place in a field of 40m (130ft) x 20m (66ft), and Campo Piccolo ("small field"), which takes place in a field of 24m (79ft) x 16m (52ft). In the 2020 Men's World Floorball Championships the Italy men's national floorball team did not pass the qualifications and did not pass to the final stage of the tournament. In 2022 it holds the 33rd position in the IFF World Ranking.[111]
Palio di Siena attracts tourists from every continent. The first edition took place in 1633.Calcio Fiorentino, that originated during the Middle Ages. This traditional sporting event attracts tourists from all over the world.Saracen Joust of Arezzo is an ancient game of chivalry. It dates back to the Middle Ages. It attracts tourists from all over the world.
Several traditional team ball sports, called sferistici in Italian language, are played in sphaeristerium, or sferisterio in Italian language, so also in open playing fields since 1555 and when Antonio Scaino from Salò regulated pallone col bracciale.[117] There are many modalities of these sports: pallone col bracciale, pallapugno, pallapugno leggera, palla elastica, palla, and tamburello. Professional players compete in the national circuit of tournaments and international championships.
The traditional sport of bocce is a popular sport and pastime. Bocce is a ball sport belonging to the boules family. Developed into its present form in Italy, it is closely related to British bowls and French pétanque, with a common ancestry from ancient games played in the Roman Empire. Bocce is played around western, southern and southeastern Europe, as well as in overseas areas with historical Italian immigrant population, including Australia, North America, and South America, principally Argentina and the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Initially played just by the Italian immigrants, the game has slowly become more popular with their descendants and more broadly.
Cue sports are played on traditional billiard table in many forms: five-pins, goriziana (nine pins), and boccette. There are almost 6,000,000 amateur players and professional players who compete in national circuit of tournaments and international championships.[118]
Palio or annual athletic contest is followed very much, because every comune celebrates ancient events in these competitions. The most famous in the world is Palio di Siena.[119] The first Palio di Siena took place in 1633.[113] Ten horses and riders, bareback and dressed in the appropriate colours, represent ten of the seventeen contrade of Siena, or city wards. The Corteo Storico of Siena, a pageant to the sound of the March of the Palio, precedes the race, which attracts visitors and spectators from around the world.
The Palio di Asti is a traditional Italian festival of medieval origin that culminates with a bareback horse race. The race has been run each year since the 13th century.[120] The earliest record, cited by Guglielmo Ventura,[121] dates from the third quarter of the 13th century. It has taken place every year, with the exception of a period in the 1870s and a 30 year interruption in the 20th century. Since 1988, the race has taken place in a triangular 'square' in the center of Asti, the Piazza Alfieri.
The Palio of Ferrara is a competition among the 8 neighborhoods (contrade) of the town of Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Four of these neighborhoods correspond to four wards located inside the medieval town fortifications. The remaining four correspond to external boroughs. After a long interruption the tradition was briefly reenacted in 1933, stopped again during World War II and eventually restarted in 1967.[124][125][126][127]
The Palio di Parma is a festival that is held once a year in the northern Italian town of Parma, and traces back to the ancient "Scarlet Run"".[128] The origin of this festival can be reconducted to 1314[129] as reported by Giovanni Del Giudice in the Chronicon Parmense.[130] The festival was held every year on 15 August, from the 14th century to Napoleon's arrival in the 19th century.[131] Starting from 1978 the competition was brought to a new life.[129]
Calcio Fiorentino (also referred to as calcio storico "historic football") is an early form of football (soccer and rugby) that originated during the Middle Ages in Italy.[114] Once widely played, the sport is thought to have started in the Piazza Santa Croce in Florence. There it became known as the giuoco del calcio fiorentino ("Florentine kick game") or simply calcio, which is now also the name for association football in the Italian language. The game may have started as a revival of the Roman sport of harpastum. This traditional sporting event attracts tourists from all over the world.[115]
Saracen Joust of Arezzo is an ancient game of chivalry. It dates back to the Middle Ages. It was born as an exercise for military training. This tournament was regularly held in Arezzo between the 16th century and the end of the 17th century, when memorable jousts in baroque style were organized. The joust – which became a typical tradition of Arezzo at the beginning of the 17th century – declined progressively during the 18th century and eventually disappeared, at least in its "noble" version. After a brief popular revival between the 18th and 19th century, the joust was interrupted after 1810 to reappear only in 1904 in the wake of the Middle Ages reappraisal operated by Romanticism. Finally, the joust was definitely restored in 1931 as a form of historical re-enactment set in the 14th century, and quickly acquired a competitive character. Saracen Joust attracts tourists from all over the world.[116]
The Giostra della Quintana was a historical jousting tournament in Foligno, central Italy. It was revived as a modern festival in 1946.[132] The tournament event takes place in June (1st Challenge) during a Saturday night and September (the counter-challenge) the 2nd or 3rd Sunday of September, and is proceeded each time by a festival with a 17th-century costumed parade. The definition of Quintana comes from the 5th road of the Roman military camps, where the soldiers were trained in lance fighting.[132] This is the origin of the tournament's name, but the first definition and documented "Quintana" as a knights' jousting tournament during a festival, dates back to 1448. In 1613 the build-up to the Quintana tournament included the carnival festivals we see today. Giostra della Quintana attracts tourists from all over the world.[133]
As 2022, Italian athletes have a cache of 618 medals at Summer Olympic Games, and a cache of 141 medals at Winter Olympic Games. Italy has won a total of 259 gold medals which makes them the 6th most successful country in Olympic history, after the USA, the Soviet Union, Germany, Great Britain and France. Italy has the sixth highest medal total of all time with 759. Italy has the third longest medaling streak after Sweden and Finland. Italy has medaled in 40 straight Olympic games, starting with the 1936 Summer Olympics.
Italy had finished the Summer Olympic Games: 2nd in 1932, 3rd in 1960, 4th in 1936, and 5th in 1924, 1928, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1964, 1980 and 1984. In the Winter Olympic Games, Italy has finished 4th in 1968 and 1994, and 6th in 1952 and 1992. Italy ranks 1st all-time in fencing, 2nd in cycling, 3rd in luge, 4th in boxing and shooting, 5th in alpine skiing, and 6th in bobsled, cross-country skiing and short track speed skating.
The Italian National Olympic Committee (Italian: Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano, CONI) was created in 1914 and recognized in 1915. Within Italy, CONI recognizes 44 national sports federations, 19 associate sports disciplines, 15 promotional sports organizations, and 19 organizations for the betterment of sports. In total 95,000 sports clubs with 11,000,000 members are recognized.[135] Its 2016 annual budget is 412,900,000 euros which is primarily funded by the Italian government.[136]
The Walk of Fame of Italian sport is the Walk of Fame of the Italian sport, inaugurated by Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) on 7 May 2015.[137] It is a list of 125 Italian all-time champions, which has been implemented on five occasions (five new entries in 2015, 2016 and 2021, seven in 2018, three in 2019), from the initial 100 names.
The Walk of Fame of Italian sport is a road path in Rome with plaques dedicated to former Italian sports athletes who have distinguished themselves internationally. It runs between the Avenue of the Olympics and the Stadio Olimpico in the Olympic Park of the Foro Italico of the capital.[138]
Dino Zoff is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he is the oldest ever winner of the World Cup, which he lifted as captain of the Italy national team in the 1982 tournament, at the age of 40 years, 4 months and 13 days. He also won the award for best goalkeeper of the tournament and was elected to the team of the tournament for his performances, keeping two clean-sheets, an honour he also received after winning the 1968 European Championship on home soil. Zoff is the only Italian player to have won both the World Cup and the European Championship. He also achieved great club success with Juventus, winning six Serie A titles, two Coppa Italia titles, and a UEFA Cup, also reaching two European Champions' Cup finals in the 1972–73 and 1982–83 seasons, as well as finishing second in the 1973 Intercontinental Cup final.
Livio Berruti is an Italian former athlete who was the winner of the 200-meter dash in the 1960 Summer Olympics.
Sportin Lithuania is governed by the Physical Education and Sports Department following the country's independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. The Lithuanian government established the department to manage physical education in the schools and sports administration in the country. Over the next few years, Lithuanian sports organizations established membership in international governing bodies. Lithuania participated in the Winter Olympics in Albertville and has participated in every Winter and Summer Olympics since.
Football is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italy national football team is considered one of the best national teams in the world. They have won the FIFA World Cup four times, trailing only Brazil, runners-up in two finals both against Brazil, and reaching a third place (1990) and a fourth place (1978). They have also won two European Championships, also appeared in two finals, finished third at the Confederations Cup (2013) and the Nations League, won one Olympic football tournament (1936) and two Central European International Cups.
Stadio Olimpico, colloquially known as l'Olimpico, is an Italian multi-purpose sports venue located in Rome. Seating over 70,000 spectators, it is the largest sports facility in Rome and the second-largest in Italy, after Milan's San Siro. It formerly had a capacity of over 100,000 people, and was also called Stadio dei Centomila. It is owned by Sport e Salute, a government agency that manages sports venues, and its operator is the Italian National Olympic Committee.
Among all sportin Turkey, the most popular one is football. Turkey's top teams include Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and Beşiktaş. In 2000, Galatasaray won the UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup. Two years later, the Turkish national team finished third in the 2002 FIFA World Cup Finals in Japan and South Korea, while in 2008, the national team reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Euro 2008 competition. The Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul hosted the 2005 and 2023 UEFA Champions League Final, while the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in Istanbul hosted the 2009 UEFA Cup Final. Turkey will host the UEFA Euro 2032 along with Italy.
Sportin Germany is an important part of German culture and their society. In 2006 about 28 million people were members of the more than 87.000 sport clubs in Germany. Almost all sports clubs are represented by the German Olympic Sports Federation.
Sport in Israel plays an important role in Israeli culture and is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Sport. The most popular sports in Israel have traditionally been Association football (mainly) and basketball (secondly) – with the first being considered the national sport – in both of which Israeli professional teams have been competitive internationally. Israel is an international center for Jewish sport around the world and since 1932 the Maccabiah Games, an Olympic-style event for Jewish athletes, is held in the country. Despite Israel's location in the Asian continent, the Israeli sports associations in various sports belong to the European associations due to the refusal of many Arab Asian countries to compete with Israeli athletes.
Sport in Belgium plays a prominent role in the society. As of 2010, Belgium counted around 17,000 sport clubs with approximately 1.35 million members, or about 13% of the Belgian population. Popular sports in Belgium are, among others: football, cycling, tennis, table tennis, athletics, swimming, basketball, badminton, judo, hockey, rowing, motocross, auto racing, volleyball, and running. Belgium has organized the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp as well as the 1972 UEFA European Championship and the 2000 UEFA European Championship along with the Netherlands. The Belgium national football team's best result was a 3rd place at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and a second place of the 1980 UEFA European Championship. Belgian football clubs have won 3 times the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and twice the UEFA Cup, plus 3 times the UEFA Supercup.
Sport in France plays an important role in French society, which is reflected in its popularity among the French people and the nation's strong sporting history. Various types of sports are played and followed in France, notably cycling, fencing, football, and handball, which has earned France eight victories in world championships and five Olympic medals. France is also the four-time European champion of handball.
Sport in Wales plays a prominent role in Welsh culture. Like the other countries of the United Kingdom, Wales enjoys independent representation in major world sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup and in the Rugby World Cup, but competes as part of Great Britain in some other competitions, including the Olympics.
Sport in Europe tends to be highly organized with many sports having professional leagues. The origins of many of the world's most popular sports today lie in the codification of many traditional games, especially in the United Kingdom. However, a paradoxical feature of European sport is the extent to which local, regional and national variations continue to exist, and even in some instances to predominate.
Sports in Portugal are important in Portuguese culture. High-profile, successful competitive athleticism and sportsmanship in Portugal can be traced back to the time of Ancient Rome. Gaius Appuleius Diocles was a noteworthy charioteer born in Lamego who became one of the most celebrated athletes in ancient history. He is often cited as the highest-paid athlete of all time. Football is the most popular sport in Portugal. Other than football, many other professional or semi-professional well organized sport competitions take place every season in Portugal, including basketball, swimming, athletics, tennis, gymnastics, futsal, rink hockey, team handball, volleyball, surfing, canoeing and rugby union championships among the hundreds of sports played in this country.
Foro Italico is a sports complex in Rome, Italy, on the slopes of Monte Mario. It was built between 1928 and 1938 as the Foro Mussolini under the design of Enrico Del Debbio and, later, Luigi Moretti. Inspired by the Roman forums of the imperial age, its design is lauded as a preeminent example of Italian fascist architecture instituted by Mussolini. The purpose of the prestigious project was to get the Olympic Games of 1940 to be organised by fascist Italy and held in Rome.
Greece has risen to prominence in a number of sporting areas in recent decades. Football in particular has seen a rapid transformation, with the Greece national football team winning the UEFA Euro 2004. Many Greek athletes have also achieved significant success and have won world and olympic titles in numerous sports during the years, such as basketball, wrestling, water polo, athletics, weightlifting, with many of them becoming international stars inside their sports. The successful organisation of the Athens 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games led also to the further development of many sports and has led to the creation of many world class sport venues all over Greece and especially in Athens. Greek athletes have won a total 169 medals for Greece in 17 different Olympic sports at the Summer Olympic Games, including the Intercalated Games, an achievement which makes Greece one of the top nations globally, in the world's rankings of medals per capital
Sports in Somalia are regulated by the Ministry of Sports of Somalia. The government ministry works closely with the Somali Olympic Committee and
Sport in Slovakia is influenced by its climate and geography; popular summer sports include football, tennis, volleyball, swimming, cycling and hiking, popular winter sports include skiing and snowboarding. The most watched sports in Slovakia are football, ice hockey and tennis. Internationally, the most successful sport in Slovakia is ice hockey where currently, as of 2022, the country is ranked as the eighth best team in the world by the IIHF World Ranking.
Andrea Lovotti is an Italian rugby union player who plays as a Prop. He currently plays for Colorno in Top10.
Giovanni Malagò is an Italian businessman, sports executive, and former futsal player. He is the president of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI). Since 1 January 2019, he is a member of the International Olympic Committee.
Lamont Marcell Jacobs Jr. is an Italian track and field sprinter and former long jumper. He is the 2020 Olympic 100 metres champion, the 2022 60 metres world champion, the 2022 and 2024 European 100 metres champion, and a member of the gold medal-winning 4 × 100 m relay team at the 2020 Olympics. He currently holds the 100 metres European record, the 60 metres European record, and is the first person to ever qualify for and win the men's 100 metres Olympic final for Italy.
↑ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio (2011). "Pallovale". Il Sabatini Coletti - Dizionario della Lingua Italiana (in Italian). Corriere della Sera. ISBN978-88-09-21007-3.
↑ Bath, Richard (1997). The Complete Book of Rugby. Seven Oaks Ltd. p.68. ISBN1-86200-013-1.
1 2 3 Bath, Richard (1997). The Complete Book of Rugby. Seven Oaks Ltd. p.69. ISBN1-86200-013-1.
↑ Goldoni, Claudio Maria (2011). Atlante estense - Mille anni nella storia d'Europa - Gli Estensi a Ferrara, Modena, Reggio, Garfagnana e Massa Carrara, Modena (in Italian). Edizioni Artestampa. ISBN978-88-6462-005-3.
Martin, Simon. "Italian Sport and the Challenges of Its Recent Historiography", Journal of Sport History (2011) 38#2 pp 199–209; reviews works on history of football, the politicization of sports, and military sport
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
