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The 2026 summer of the men’s youth volleyball national teams has officially opened at the “Giordanello” sports hall in Camigliatello Silano (CS). This year too, the Sila location confirms itself as the headquarters of the Italian team’s activity, hosting the collegiate teams and the preparation of the teams involved in the main international events of the season.
In Camigliatello Silano the work of the men’s youth sector continues coordinated by the Technical Director Vincenzo Fanizza. Having joined the staff of the Italian national teams in 2018 and subsequently appointed Technical Director of the Men’s Youth Sector, Fanizza has contributed over the years to the growth of the Italian teams and to the achievement of important results at European and global level. The Under 17, Under 18, Under 19, Under 22 selections and the Mediterranean Games group will be the protagonists of the summer of 2026, including the European Championships, the World Championships and the multi-sport event scheduled in Puglia from 21 August to 3 September.
The ceremony was attended by the FIPAV Vice President Massimo Sala, the Federal Councilors Giusy Piredda and Marco Mari, Emanuele Romano of the FIPAV National Teams Sector, the President of the FIPAV Calabria Regional Committee Carmelo Sestito, the President of the FIPAV Cosenza Territorial Committee Gianni Guida, the FIPAV Calabria Centro President Francesco Strangis, the CIP Cosenza President Debora Granata, the CONI Cosenza Delegate Francesco Manna, the Head of the Sports Sector of the University of Calabria Piero Guido, the Councilor of the Municipality of Spezzano della Sila Ludovico Serra and the City Councilor with responsibility for Sport Gianluca Mendicino.
Among the guests of the day was also Matteo Piano, former central defender of the Italian national team and silver medalist at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, who wanted to bring his greetings to the young Italians by sharing experiences, values and meanings of the blue shirt, in a symbolic passing of the baton between those who lived their career in the national team as protagonists and the new generations called to take up their legacy.
During the presentation, the Under 17, Under 18, Under 22 teams and the Mediterranean Games group were introduced. The Under 22 will be involved from 29 June to 4 July at the European Championships in Albufeira, Portugal; the Under 18s will instead play the European Championship organized in Italy from 7 to 18 July between Porto San Giorgio and Cisterna di Latina. In August there will be space for the Under 19 European qualifiers, the Under 17 World Championship scheduled in Doha, Qatar, and finally the Mediterranean Games which will take place in Puglia from 21 August to 3 September.
Over the years Camigliatello Silano has become one of the most important realities of federal youth activity. Thanks to the collaboration between the Italian Volleyball Federation, the FIPAV Calabria Regional Committee, the FIPAV Cosenza Territorial Committee and the Municipality of Spezzano della Sila, the “Giordanello” sports hall has been progressively adapted to the needs of the national teams, allowing the simultaneous presence of several Italian groups and the sharing of spaces, training times and services.
A path that demonstrates FIPAV’s desire to invest in a concrete way in the men’s youth sector, putting athletes and staff in the best possible conditions to face a season full of international commitments and objectives. The project developed in Camigliatello Silano today represents one of the main strengths of federal activity and an organizational model that allows the different national selections to coexist and work in a coordinated manner throughout the summer.
THE STATEMENTS
“Every summer we manage to reach incredible levels and we are convinced that this year too it will be like this – declared FIPAV Vice President Massimo Sala –. Camigliatello has become a real home for our national teams. Here there is a community that lives alongside the Azzurri and a facility that over the years has been built increasingly tailor-made for volleyball. The Federation’s investment in the youth sector is important and the results obtained in recent years demonstrate the quality of the work carried out”.
Doing the honors was the President of the FIPAV Calabria Regional Committee, Carmelo Sestito: “Welcome to Calabria. We hope that this land can be a good omen to once again achieve important results. After so many years we can say that a lot has changed in Camigliatello. For this I must thank Gianni Guida and Vincenzo Fanizza for the work done, as well as the Italian Volleyball Federation for believing in this project. We are working to further consolidate this path and we hope soon to to be able to sign an important agreement with the Calabria Region, so as to continue to do great things in the future”.
The Technical Director of the Men’s Youth National Teams Vincenzo Fanizza is also satisfied: “It will be an intense and demanding summer. Different age groups will coexist here and this represents a great added value, because every boy can learn from the others. A true Italian community is created between athletes and staff and the structures we have available allow us to work in the best possible conditions to prepare for all the international events that await us”.