There is now very little time left for the 2026 World Champions League Finals, scheduled at the PalaRescifina in Messina from 6 to 8 February 2026, which represent much more than a major sporting competition, marking the start of a new vision of table football as a modern, inclusive and intergenerational sport, capable of uniting tradition and the future in a single major international event. An old game, a new sport.
The Messina edition, organized by the ITSF and entrusted in Italy to the FPICB with the collaboration of the Municipality of Messina and Mediterranea Eventi, is configured as a historic edition with record numbers (over 500 registered with teams representing 26 countries around the world), which arrives in Italy for the first time and which chooses Messina as the stage for a profound change, introducing the Junior and Paralympic categories alongside the “traditional” men’s and women’s categories, and further enhancing the Senior category (50+), designing a sports model open to all ages and all abilities.
A highly significant choice, which confirms the international event in Messina as a global reference not only on a competitive level, but also on a social and cultural level. Spotlight on the Paralympic competition, which for the first time fully enters the official program of the World Champions League with a dedicated structure. With over 50 athletes registered, Messina will host the largest international table football event for athletes with disabilities ever held, definitively opening the doors of this sport to a truly universal dimension. In this sense, the participation of a team from Argentina in the event was significant, demonstrating the strong appeal of the tournament on the banks of the Strait. 360° opening and a look to the future, represented by the new Junior category, with 8 teams competing, which will bring the emerging talents of world table football to the stage. Young athletes ready to compete on a very high level stage, alongside the great champions and guaranteeing continuity and development to the international movement. To strengthen this bridge between generations, the Senior (50+) category takes on a central role in the sporting narrative of the event.
The registered teams demonstrate how experience, technique and passion remain decisive elements even at the highest levels, enhancing the history of a sporting discipline (and no longer a simple game) which continues to evolve and consolidate without losing its identity. A strong appeal of the WCL Messina 2026, as mentioned, demonstrated not only by the numbers of members (to which will be added several other hundreds of participants including companions, staff …) but also by the big names who will compete within the “Gaming Arena Città di Messina”, such as the current world number 1 in the men’s category Tony Spredeman (competing with the Philoro Austria team) and the German Djamila Nader among the women, and also the participation of the table football legend, the Belgian Frédéric Collignon, considered by experts to be the strongest athlete in the recent history of this sport, who will return from retirement for this event. It is in this balance between past, present and future that the key message of the World Champions League Messina 2026 fits: “an old game, a new sport”. Table football, among the best known and most played games in the world, today establishes itself as a real sport, regulated, competitive, inclusive and capable of speaking to different audiences, overcoming generational, cultural and social barriers.
“We are truly proud and satisfied with what we are achieving – said Francesco Bonanno, President of the Italian Paralympic Table Football Federation – the Messina stage represents a real historical turning point in our sporting discipline, officially opening up to the Paralympic world and including new categories, thus launching a signal of strong international growth. Among other things, having so many participants arrive in Messina demonstrates that the movement is alive and that the location is of great appeal, and for this I have the duty to thank the Mayor Federico Basile, Councilor Massimo Finocchiaro and the entire municipal administration for immediately supporting the candidacy and subsequently supporting us in the implementation phase of the event. We are now coming to an end and I am sure that Messina will be able to welcome all these people in the best possible way and with great enthusiasm. It will be a sporting stage of the highest level: a historic edition that will give us many emotions and that will make the many participants fall in love with Messina.” All updates will be available on the social media profiles of Mediterranea. Events. The WCL Messina 2026 matches will be broadcast live on the ITSF YouTube channel, while the results will be updated live on the Coral platform.