Everything is now ready for the 33rd Scopigno Cup Rieti World Football Tournament, which will run from Tuesday, August 19th to Friday, August 22nd. This tournament has become the flagship of youth football, compared by many to the Viareggio Cup.
The 2025 edition, reserved for the Under-17 category, will feature 12 teams, including Japanese side Vegalta Sendai and Danish side Midtjylland. They will try to gain ground against the ten Italian teams, including Juventus, Lazio, Roma, Fiorentina, Atalanta, Napoli, Benevento, Avellino, Ternana, and Rieti, the latter being the tournament’s “Cinderella,” but ready to give it their all to compete against much more prestigious teams.
The opening match will be none other than the Rome derby between Lazio and Roma, scheduled for Tuesday, August 19th at 3:30 PM at the Manlio Scopigno Stadium. The match will be broadcast live on RaiSport and will mark the debut of former captain Cristian Ledesma as coach of the Biancocelesti. Referees will be from Terna Can, with Mario Perri, Matteo Pressato, and Andrea Zezza as assistants.
Before kick-off, the young tenor from Rieti, Federico Piermarini, will sing the Mameli Anthem, wishing the 25-year-old local singer a successful professional career, much like many players who have played in the Scopigno Cup during these first 32 years of the tournament.
The tournament’s collateral events are also eagerly awaited, including conferences on Violence against Women, hosted in collaboration with the AIAC of Rieti, and the Fashion Show featuring Special Olympics girls and students from the EPN schools of Rieti, under the artistic direction of Souhaila Mia, also the event’s patron. There are also the International Art and Painting Exhibitions in Rome’s Piazza Venezia and Rieti’s Palazzo Dosi Delfini.
Four preliminary round matches will be played each day: on Tuesday, Vegalta-Ternana will also be played (5:00 p.m. at the Tilesi Stadium in Amatrice), Avellino-Benevento (5:00 p.m. at the Casola Stadium in Naples), and Rieti-Fiorentina (6:00 p.m. at the Rietello Sports Center).
Attached is the complete programme of the preliminary phase, which on Thursday will define the framework of the four semi-finalists from which the two finalists will emerge who on Friday 22 August (5pm at the ‘Manlio Scopigno’ stadium) will try to write their name on the roll of honour of the competition.
