The Italian Cup final, scheduled for tomorrow at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, will be the first football event in Italy designed around the concept of sustainable development in all its aspects, in line with UEFA's 2030 Sustainability Strategy.
La Lega Serie A, Sport e Salute and Roma Mobilità have in fact collaborated and united their intentions for the realization of the “Road to zero” project: with the cooperation between all the actors involved in the organization and logistics linked to the match. will be planned – for the first time in Italy – a football event characterized by a focus on sustainability in all its aspects, with the consequence of a significant reduction in the relative environmental impact and positive effects in social and governance terms (ESG principles).
The Coppa Italia event represents the first test of guidelines and “best practices” to be shared and applied to all football events, underlined Michele Uva, UEFA's director of social and environmental sustainability.
“Sport and major events like the Italian Cup final must be social models of reference on important issues such as, for example, sustainability.– explained the president of Sport and Health, Marco Mezzaroma – This is why, as Sport and Health, we are alongside the Lega Serie A in the “Road to Zero” project and the concrete actions it envisages. The commitment to making the Olympic Stadium, which we own, increasingly “sustainable and accessible” is part of the ESG vision that will characterize the entire season of Foro Italico events. In addition, a “silent sensory room” has been created for the first time in Italy inside the Olympic stadium, a safe and calm space which will offer certain supporters suffering from particular pathologies the possibility of experiencing the emotion of the match in a welcoming environment.», concluded Mezzaroma.
The project “marks an important milestone for Italian football. For the first time in Italy, sustainability, in all its forms, is placed at the center of the organization of a football match”, the words of Lega Serie A president, Lorenzo Casini. “We are thus continuing the commitment made with the 2030 Strategy “Social Responsibility of Football” which led Serie A to be chosen by UEFA as a pilot league for the implementation of the principles and guidelines developed by the highest authority European Football.
Lorenzo Casini
Some of the initiatives implemented for tomorrow's event were illustrated by the mobility advisor of Roma Capitale, Eugenio Patanè: “The aim of the 'Road to Zero' initiative is to enable all Final spectators to reach the stadium in a sustainable way. This is why we encourage the use of public transport with a free day ticket for all supporters who wish to use it if they already have a ticket for the stadium; extension of metro timetables until 1:30 a.m.; reinforcement of all urban transport lines to the Olympic stadium and shuttles; dedicated to the transport of disabled people, supplementing the provision of a large car park reserved for those arriving at the Olympic stadium by shared means of transport;.
Other virtuous interventions: the “UEFA Carbon Footprint Calculator” will be used for the first time to calculate the ecological footprint.
At the end of the Frecciarossa Italian Cup Final, a detailed reporting phase will also be prepared on the initiatives carried out. The results will provide a virtuous reference model for planning future events, thus helping to promote the continuity and effectiveness of the supported activities.