CEV and Italian sports family united to deliver memorable Super Finals in Verona

The anticipation for the Super Finals 2021 is mounting with each day, with only about two weeks left until the first major Volleyball event of the year 2021 will be taking place in the city of Romeo and Juliet – Verona – on May 1, 2021. On Thursday, CEV President Aleksandar Boričić joined the highest authorities in Italian sports and key political partners as well for a press conference held at the iconic premises of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) in Rome – which helped set the tone for the eagerly anticipated Super Finals.

Undersecretary for Sport Valentina Vezzali, a six-time Olympic champion in fencing, had the pleasure and honour of addressing the audience at the beginning of the press conference. “I do think that our country needs sport more than ever before and especially the younger people need to resume their sporting activities as soon as possible. Volleyball has been at the forefront in Italy for many years not only through the success of iconic champions, but also for the primary role that it plays in raising our kids and younger generations. I would like to thank the CEV President and the European Volleyball Confederation for their trust in Italy’s ability to host a major event such as the Super Finals. I obviously wish the best of luck to the two Italian teams, Conegliano and Trento, involved in the competition.”

“I feel honoured to be in such a historical place,” the CEV President said, wishing the best of success to the Italian delegation of athletes and officials due to travel to Japan later this year for the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics. “I would like to thank the Italian Volleyball Federation, the Region of Veneto and city of Verona for their support and their help to organise the Super Finals after a break of one year due to the pandemic. I wish to thank more than 160 clubs involved in this year’s European Cups, and everyone who helped us deliver so many matches across Europe despite the pandemic. We are now reaching the final and most exciting stage of our competition. This event is an example of gender equality, since both men and women will enjoy the same conditions. We increased the prize money even in such a difficult time – and we owe much respect to the teams who have been competing even in such difficult circumstances.”

CONI President Giovanni Malago’ added, “I wish to thank the Volleyball family and I think the Super Finals will be a very important event for the sports community. Thank you to the CEV President for the strong relationship he has developed with Italy over the years and the organisation of the Super Finals is testament to this. I wish to thank the President of the Veneto Region for his readiness to support this event,” he said, reminding that Verona is due to host the closing ceremony of the 2026 Milano and Cortina Winter Olympics and that Volleyball is the only team sport for which both the men’s and women’s national teams have qualified for Tokyo 2020.

“We have made plans for the Super Finals in Verona in a very short time. We have started a very close cooperation with the CEV President to grow Volleyball,” said the recently elected President of the Italian Volleyball Federation, Giuseppe Manfredi. “We will continue to work hard to re-start activities in an environment that is safe for all. Many events held in Italy since the outbreak of the pandemic have been very successful and we are grateful to the clubs and the Italian leagues for keeping our sport alive even in these difficult months. We are obviously proud that two of our teams will be competing at the Super Finals in Verona.”

The President of the Veneto Region, Luca Zaia, joined remotely from Venice via videoconference: “Our region is the second in Italy in terms of registered Volleyball players. We have always had a strong relationship with Volleyball and I am delighted that Verona can host an event of such calibre. One of the two Italian teams competing there, Imoco Conegliano, comes from our region and has already achieved much success in domestic and international competitions. People from more than 50 countries will follow the Super Finals on TV and I am sure that we will all be doing our best to deliver a real show in Verona.”

The Mayor of Verona, Federico Sboarina, attended the press conference virtually as well: “I wish to thank all those who believed in Verona’s ability to host the Super Finals. I am very proud that this prestigious event will be taking place here. The city is ready even though we are obviously disappointed that no audience will be able to follow the event on site. Volleyball is at home in Verona and we have many projects ongoing at this time. Our country needs sport to return to normalcy after the pandemic!”