From today, 4,500 participants including athletes and technicians are expected in Sicily, never so many, representing the 21 regional committeesto participate in the ninth summer edition of the Coni Trophy, the largest under 14 sporting event in Italy scheduled until Sunday 6 October on the island. The opening ceremony will be held tomorrow, Friday 4 October, in Catania in the presence, among others, of the Head of State, Sergio Mattarella, the president of the Senate, Ignazio La Russa, the governor of Sicily, Renato Schifani, the president of Ars, Gaetano Galvagno, and the president of Coni, Giovanni Malagò. Among the 39 national sports federations and the five associated sports disciplines, this is also a record, this edition will be the first time at the Coni Trophy for billiards, bowling and, as a demonstration discipline, cricket which will be part of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic programme.
Thanks to the project of the Pnrr ‘Turismo delle Radicì, like last year, children from the Italian communities abroad of the Coni of Argentina, Australia (in the first edition), Brazil, the United States and Venezuela will also be competing, who in the days following the Trophy they will visit Sicily to discover their origins. Their presence is one of the results of the permanent collaboration memorandum of understanding between CONI and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the diffusion of culture and sports practice, as well as the promotion of the country system through the organization of meetings and sporting events for the benefit of the Italian communities abroad such as the National Sports Day and, indeed, the Coni Trophy. Among the novelties of this year is the three-year collaboration between CONI and the Agnelli Foundation, which in Sicily will involve, in addition to Fiamingo and Santuccio, also the Paralympic champion Rossana Pasquino, bronze in the team foil in Paris 2024.
The three athletes will meet the students of the lower secondary classes of the Catania institutes and will tell them how they have combined sporting activity during their school life, managing to shine both in sport and in study.
The Coni Trophy, with the slogan «Live your Dream», is a multidisciplinary event that promotes sports practice among children through the synergy of the entire sports system and with the participation of numerous sports associations. The format, strongly supported by the Italian National Olympic Committee and well received by all sports bodies, is its main characteristic element, a forerunner of the gender equality achieved by the IOC at Olympic level in Paris 2024.