Sports weekend on 13-14 June 2026 in Rome

As CONI Svizzera we are selecting a delegation of Italian-Swiss youngsters aged 12 and 13 for the great international gathering of young athletes of Italian descent. Flight, meals, accommodation and activities are covered by CONI. On Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 June 2026 we will take a delegation of three young athletes to Rome. Girls and boys aged 12 and 13, with Italian blood in their veins and their sports shoes in their backpack, who will meet peers from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, the United States, Venezuela and Australia. All together at the Stadio dei Marmi, the historic venue of the Foro Italico, for two days of sport, friendship and rediscovery of an identity that here in Switzerland young people often only half experience. It is an initiative built by the Farnesina and the Italian National Olympic Committee within the "Turismo delle Radici" project, the great strategy with which Italy is reconnecting with the 80 million people of Italian descent around the world. And we, as the National Delegation of CONI in Switzerland, have the task of choosing who will represent our community. Applications close on Sunday 17 May at 12:00. Why is it worth putting your children forward? Think about it for a moment. Your child is 12 or 13 years old. They speak Italian at home, perhaps a little less well than you would like. They know the family comes from a country they have never really known. They hear about grandparents, uncles, distant cousins, but for them Italy remains a somewhat abstract concept, something that concerns the grown-ups. Now imagine the same girl, the same boy, walking on the grass of the Stadio dei Marmi next to a Brazilian peer who speaks Italian with a strange accent and laughs at the same things. Imagine them playing a football match with children from six different countries who all, in some way, have a story similar to theirs. Organisation and costs Return flights from Zurich to Rome, meals for the whole weekend, accommodation, transport in Rome, welcome at the airport, official lunch with all the delegations, sports activities and a guided tour of the city. All covered by the organisers. This is not an improvised school trip. It is an institutional initiative that CONI organises every year, and we at the Swiss Delegation take it with all the seriousness it deserves. Who can apply: 3 athletes We are looking for girls and boys born in 2013 and 2014, of Italian origin, resident in Switzerland, who play sport at youth level. Football, basketball or multi-sport disciplines are all fine. You don't need to be a champion: you need the desire to play, to discover, to test yourself alongside youngsters coming from the other side of the world. The day-by-day programme Saturday 13 June. Departure from Zurich at 7:20 in the morning. On arrival in Rome the CONI staff awaits you at the airport, we accompany you to check-in, and at midday there is the official lunch with the delegations from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, the United States, Venezuela and Australia. The afternoon is dedicated to a guided tour of Rome: your children will see the Eternal City through the eyes of those discovering it for the first time. Sunday 14 June. Sports competitions at the Stadio dei Marmi all day long. Laughing, playing, making friends. In the evening the return: flight from Rome at 20:15, arrival in Zurich at 21:50. Your daughter or son will come home tired, happy, and with something more than when they left. How we look after your children We know this is the part you care about most, and we understand. For the entire duration of the trip the Swiss delegation will be under the direct supervision of the National Delegate of CONI in Switzerland, Cirano Tondi, assisted by a bilingual Italian-German assistant. We leave nothing to chance. It is a structured institutional initiative, organised with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. How to apply Applications close on Sunday 17 May 2026 at 12:00. Places are limited: the Swiss delegation consists of a small group of 3 athletes and we will consider applications in order of arrival. For any questions, doubts or curiosity, I am at your disposal: Cirano Tondi National Delegate of CONI in Switzerland Mobile 078 622 96 91 E-mail delegato.svizzera@coni.it