1st “Italian Embassy Cup” has been organized in Tbilisi. The friendship between Italy and Georgia was celebrated in the field of football.
A new initiative, consisting of two five-a-side football tournaments (respectively, for players under 15 years old and under 12 years old) has been organized jointly by the Italian Embassy in Georgia and the International Foundation of Sport, Tourism and Youth.
Prizes for the awarded teams include a dedicated trophy and Italian-branded sportswear made available by one of the Embassy’s sponsors, including wonderful t-shirts with the Italian flag.
Ambassador of Italy to Georgia Enrico Valvo awarded the winning teams.
Renowned football academies for young generations active in Georgia, such as “Inter Academy Georgia” – the first inaugurated in Southern Caucasus by the well-known Italian football club Internazionale Milano FC – Vikings FC, Sulkavelidze Footbal Academy and CFF Gldani, participate in the tournaments.
Vikings FC won 1st place in the under 15 years old division after a hard-fought game with Inter Milan, while the final for the under-12 division will be held on Thursday at the Arena Sport Complex in Tbilisi.
Participants and initiators of the tournament were addressed by Alessandro Antonello, CEO of Inter Milan, who welcomed them and highlighted the importance of such initiatives among the young generation. He thanked Inter FC and the Italian Embassy for their dedication and involvement.
“I’m very glad that today the Italian embassy decided to involve us in this initiative, which shows how relevant and important Inter Academy, opened in Georgia last year, has become,” he noted.
“For Italy and Georgia, football means much more than just a game, that’s why we decided to hold this tournament. This is very important for the young generation. I’m glad that Inter Academy participates in it. Inter is a distinguished football club in Italy and I’m happy that Inter Academy will help these children to play on a high level in the future,” noted the Deputy Ambassador of Italy to Georgia, Nicola Iorio.
“It’s very welcome that such tournaments are being held among the youth. Futsal is a very specific sport and the more children will learn how to play it, the better. We’re very glad to watch the young generation learning and playing it,” said Avtandil Asatiani, the Head Coach of the Futsal Team.
“Our joint initiative is to establish the Italian Embassy Cup in Georgia in futsal. This is symbolic because everyone knows how close this sport is to both nations, that’s why we supported this initiative,” said Vasil Liparteliani, Head of the International Foundation of Sports, Tourism and Youth.
“Georgian young generations are showing the strongest enthusiasm towards the tournament, further highlighting the affection of the Georgian public towards Italy’s “calcio”, and the interest in the activities of Italian teams in Georgia, and the related cooperation aimed at strengthening the local football environment. The Italian Embassy welcomes such enthusiasm, which adheres perfectly to the ultimate goal of the initiative: fostering links between Italy and Georgia in the field of sport and celebrating the already strong friendship between the two countries,” noted the Italian Embassy in Georgia.
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