The “Teofilo Patini” municipal stadium in Castel di Sangro, from Thursday 10th to Sunday 13th, will host the twenty-third edition of the Italian Cup reserved for footballer-doctors. The Nazionale Medici Calcio circuit returns to Castel di Sangro after eight years. In 2018, a friendly tournament took place at the “Patini” with the teams from Pescara, Naples and Lecce.
The 2026 Italian Cup organized in collaboration with Aics is the result of an agreement between the mayor and president of the Province of L’Aquila, Angelo Caruso, the president of the Asd Nazionale Medici Calcio, Dr. Giovanni Borrelli, and the head of the Pescara medical team, Dr. Marco Donatelli. Nine teams registered for the event: the Calabrian teams Cosenza and Melito Porto Salvo, the Campania teams Naples, Salerno, Avellino and Flegrea, the Apulian teams Taranto and Bari, as well as the Abruzzo doctors of Pescara. They will compete for the trophy won in the 2025 edition by Trinacria Palermo. There are three groups: in group A, Naples, Avellino and Bari. Ndl group B, Melito, Taranto and Pescara; in group C, Cosenza, Flegrea and Salerno.
The final phase of the Italian Cup is combined with a scientific congress, on the 10th and 11th, on the theme “Traumas in football: from diagnosis to rehabilitation”.
The seven trophies won by Melito Porto Salvo stand out in the event’s roll of honour. Followed by Trinacria Palermo (absent in this edition), Milan-Brianza and Reggio Calabria (3), Cosenza and Naples (2), Bari, Florence, Flegrea and Palermo (1). The program includes three mini-triangular matches, Thursday and Friday afternoon with matches lasting 35 minutes. The top four in the ranking will advance to the semi-finals on Saturday afternoon and will be drawn up from 1st to 9th place (3 points for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a defeat. The final on Sunday morning at 10am.
The mayor of Castel di Sangro, Angelo Caruso, president of the Province of L’Aquila, declared: “The president of the national football team, Borrelli, was also satisfied and thanked the municipal administration of Castel di Sangro for their availability. Also demonstrated on this occasion”.