This morning the initiative 'Italy-Saudi Arabia in the globalisation process of football' took place, organised in the context of the Italian Super Cup in Riyadh 2025. Nearly 200 participants including institutional and corporate representatives and sector experts from Italy and Saudi Arabia. The event was opened by the Italian Ambassador Carlo Baldocci and Abdulrahman Justaniah, Deputy Minister for Strategic Planning and Investment at the Saudi Ministry of Sport, and the newly elected President of the Lega Serie A, Ezio Maria Simonelli.
"I am very happy that this is the first sports diplomacy event to be hosted in Riyadh after the awarding of the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia. This year's edition of the Italian Super Cup gave us the opportunity to work together with the Saudi Ministry of Sport and Ministry of Investment to highlight the importance of sport in the bilateral relations between Italy and Saudi Arabia. It is a central sector, in which our countries are investing with conviction in terms of infrastructure, training, tourism, technology, machinery, talent support: there is ample room for growth. This is only the beginning, there is a lot of work to be done between now and 2034,' Ambassador Baldocci said.
Abdulrahman Justaniah, Deputy Minister for Strategic Planning and Investment at the Saudi Ministry of Sports pointed out: 'Saudi Arabia has consolidated its position globally in sports, as well as in many other sectors. Winning the awarding of the 2034 World Cup underlines the big step the Kingdom has taken in this direction. Sport is a key part of Vision 2030, as it contributes to improving the quality of life, the economy and diplomacy".
After the speeches of Lega Serie A president Ezio Maria Simonelli and Gianfilippo Valentini, founder of the Social Football Summit and Go Project, it was the turn of Romy Gai, chief business officer of Fifa, who animated the panel 'Italy and Saudi: what's next', an in-depth look at the opportunities in sport between Italy and Saudi Arabia. This was followed by a focus on sports tourism and the impact of major events and another focused on the 'giga & mega projects' that characterise Vision 2030 with insights from Saff, Saudi Pro League, Mahd Sports Academy, the Ministry of Sport and the Saudi Ministry of Investment.
A panel focused on the international vocation of the Super Cup and the experience of representatives from Lega Serie A, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus and Christian Vieri, Ambassador of Lega Serie A, closed the day.
This was the first major bilateral football collaboration event since the 2034 World Cup was held in Riyadh, demonstrating the importance given to relations between Italy and the Kingdom in the field of sport.
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