The celebration in North Macedonia of the first Italian Sport in the World Day was a great success. In the Neon Stadium in Skopje, in the presence of the Minister of Sport Borko Ristovski and Ambassador Andrea Silvestri and several hundred fans, this new annual event promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Italian Republic, in agreement with the Italian Ministry of Sport and CONI, was inaugurated.
This year's edition - the Italian Embassy announced in a note - focused on football, the most popular sport in Italy and North Macedonia. On the occasion of the event, the newly established 'Association of Macedonian Fan Clubs of Italian Teams', 'Navìvaci Calcio tricolore', was presented, made up of the supporters' associations of Juventus, Inter, Milan, Lazio, Naples and Rome present at the Stadium with their stands, colours and choirs. With the association, recreational moments will be organised, such as the projection on a big screen of matches from the Serie A championship and Uefa competitions, also due to the massive participation of Italian teams this year. To emphasise the passion for the sport among all ages and genders, football matches were organised by the junior male and female teams of the Brera football club from Strumica, Gigi and Rabotnichki from Skopje. The young male and female athletes were rewarded with a blue T-shirt made by the Italian company Errea. This was followed by a mini-football tournament of Macedonian supporters' clubs of Italian teams, who also took part in a quiz on their knowledge of Italian football. The whole day was filmed live by Sportsko Radio, which since this year, with the support of the Embassy, produces every Monday a radio broadcast dedicated to the Italian Championship, as well as feeding the portal www.derbi.mk.
The event, organised by the Italian Embassy, celebrated the values of respect, passion, fair competition and team spirit typical of sport, but also its ability to strengthen cooperation and promote dialogue between peoples. In the words of Ambassador Silvestri, the day also served to recall the many Italian sports excellences and at the same time the industrial importance of this sector, and to recall that Italy will host the next Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Milan and Cortina in 2026, as well as the Special Olympics World Winter Games next year in Turin.
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