ROME (ITALPESS) – More young and old sportspeople, from school to health prevention. More sustainability, greater management efficiency and increasingly competitive results at an international level. A sport capable of giving concrete, timely and measurable responses to the real needs of citizens. These are the elements underlying the allocation of resources to sports bodies for 2026, approved by the Sport and Health Board of Directors in full coherence with the guidelines of the Minister for Sport and Youth, Andrea Abodi: a total of 344.4 million euros for sport that creates value and involves communities. It is the result of a process started in 2022 together with National Sports Federations, Sports Promotion Bodies, Associated Sports Disciplines, Civil and Military Sports Groups and Meritorious Associations: ambitious objectives, a true paradigm shift in which the increase in people practicing physical activity becomes the driving force behind the development of the entire system. The protagonists of this growth are the sports organizations that every day direct their actions according to the principles of merit, inclusion and economic and social sustainability. A clear choice: direct public resources towards those who generate value. The resources allocated to the sports system are growing thanks to the self-financing mechanism which since 2019 has already produced in recent years, despite the Covid period, an overall increase of 25%, equal to 569 million more. A virtuous model of circular economy of sport, in which resources are reinvested to guarantee access to sports practice, in projects and events, generating a social return in terms of health, well-being and inclusion greater than three times the initial value. Going on to analyze the allocation of contributions for 2026, football remains in first place (35,258 million with an increase of 0.06%), followed on the podium by swimming (18,620 million – +10.57%) and volleyball (17,864 million – +4.59%). And then, in order, to complete the top ten, tennis and padel (16,130 million – +15%), athletics (14,929 million – +0.27%), winter sports (12,568 million – +0.16%), basketball (10,400 million – +0.16%), fencing (10,150 million – +0.22%), gymnastics (10,096 million – +0.14%), cycling (9.675 million – + 0.27%). Following the list, significant increases also for ice sports (12th place with +9.99%), followed by sailing and rugby, both with +15%, same increase for horse riding (16th place). In 20th place is Fisr with +12.17%, while Pentathlon and Powerboating (-20%), Badminton (-12.21%) “lose” but can recover the funds through a management orientation process. Growth of the system also accelerated by the synergy with the Government on sports infrastructure investments, focused on suburbs and grassroots sports. The resources, currently equal to around 1 billion euros, will reach 1.25 billion in 2027 with the aim of reducing territorial gaps and redeveloping the plants. This approach is enhanced by MaC – Contributions Algorithmic Model, the objective and transparent digital platform which, starting from the data provided by the Sports Organisations, measures the performance of the system and rewards those who invest more in sporting activity, increase the number of participants, obtain results and use public resources efficiently. The numbers confirm its effectiveness: Italy is an increasingly active and competitive country on an international level, with over 640 thousand more people practicing organized sport compared to previous years, thanks to a system that has chosen to adopt sustainable, responsible management models fully aligned with the ESG pillars. – Sport and Health press office photo – . gm/red 23-Dec-25 8.05pm
