The Italian National U19 team takes on their American peers from the AFW Elite team for the third year running in the spectacular F. Ossola Stadium in Varese
This event everything you need to paint the city of Varese, Itlay in the colors of the Italian ‘tricolor’ and American ‘stars and stripes’: the high-octane excitement of an Italy v. U.S.A. battle, the fun and talent of young players, and the pull of a stadium “loaned” to American football by Varese Calcio, the city’s soccer team.
At 3 p.m. CEST (gates open at 1 p.m.) on Saturday, April 22, the F. Ossola Stadium in Varese hosts the annual clash between the Italian National U19 team and America’s AFW Elite team, which has players from eighteen states and over twenty-five high schools. The event is organized by FIDAF in conjunction with Dream Team Sports Tours, the specialist organizer of European travel and sports events with American clubs, schools and universities. It also has the full backing of the Varese Sport Commission and city’s soccer team Varese Calcio, which has pulled out all the stops once again to help a sport that boasts multiple top-flight teams in the Province of Varese.
Varese City Council’s Department for Sport and the Varese Convention & Visitors Bureau also offered their unreserved support for the initiative, as Sabrina Guglielmetti from the Varese Sport Commission confirmed;
“Thanks to teams like Blue Storms Busto Arsizio, Skorpions Varese, Gorillas Varese and G-Team Gallarate, American football is a popular sport with a great history in our area. An initiative like this, which is now in its third year, offers everyone the chance to enjoy this sport’s immense entertainment value. We at the Varese Sport Commission are delighted to offer our support as we also know that American football can help enhance the all-round appeal of sport in our part of Northern Italy, and this has a positive knock-on effect for our hospitality industry.”
Ivan Molteni, the Director of Dream Team Sports Tours, can hardly contain his enthusiasm;
“For the third year running Dream Team Sports Tours has worked with its American partners and FIDAF and successfully organized another tour for young American football players which culminates with a unifying experience when they run out against the Italian National U19 team. We firmly believe that these initiatives are, and will continue to be, a fantastic way to promote American football in Italy, and also benefit the world of sport in general. Dream Team Sports Tours is committed to continuing along this path and hopes that everyone at the event enjoys an exciting day of American football.”
This game may be a “friendly”, but it means so much more to Italy’s National U19 team, as the team’s managers explained:
“This game is an important test for the national team as we prepare for the European qualifiers in Belgrade at the beginning of May. It’ll definitely be challenging, but it will also help players from so many different teams to gel and grow as a group. The guys are coming off a long series of meets and the forty-nine players that run out on Saturday have been selected from a large pool of peers. They can rise to the occasion defending the colors of the Blue Team,” said Paolo Ambrosetti, the Italian National U19 Team Manager.
Eugenio Meini, the team’s General Manager, had similar views;
“This friendly marks the end of the national junior team’s preparations for our big game in Serbia, where we will be fighting to qualify for the final tournament in Pairs in July, along with France and Russia. This highly competitive qualifier won’t be easy, but we are confident that the work we’ve done together over the past few months will pay off. The guys and the coaching staff have worked so hard and made great sacrifices considering the limited amount of time available and concurrent championships, but I have every faith that all this dedication will pay dividends going forward.”
Admission is free and we hope to see the stadium packed with families and fans to cheer on these remarkable young players.
LIVE STREAM: Italian National U19 v. AFW Elite team in Dream Team Bowl
