Vatican Athletics

Vatican Athletics
Vatican Athletics logo
Country/Region Vatican City
Created2019 (2019)
PresidentGiampaolo Mattei

Vatican Athletics (Latin: Athletica Vaticana) is a sports organization associated with Vatican City. Established as an athletics club of the city state, it has been described as the Vatican's first official sports federation. The athletics club is affiliated with the Italian Athletics Federation.

The organization is home to the Vatican's cycling and taekwondo associations, which became members of the UCI and World Taekwondo respectively in 2021.[1][2] Vatican Athletics' padel association is also a member of the non-Olympic International Padel Federation.[3] As of March 2023, cricket and Paralympic sports teams have become part of Vatican Athletics, with plans to also incorporate fencing, basketball and potentially football.[4]

Vatican City is not yet eligible to compete at the Olympic Games, as that would require the affiliation of the country to the governing bodies of at least five Olympic sports.[5]

  1. ^ ""Christ on a bike!" Vatican City officially becomes a UCI cycling federation; Some cyclists are rejoicing at UK petrol shortages; Ineos switch to Bioracer for 2022; Disc brake 'conspiracy' comments; Ex-pro banned for 9 years + more on the live blog". road.cc. 2021-09-24. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  2. ^ "[World Taekwondo] World Taekwondo officially recognises Vatican Taekwondo as." m.worldtaekwondo.org. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  3. ^ "Vatican State becomes a member of the Padel World Federation". tennisnet.com. 2022-05-01. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  4. ^ "Il volto solidale dello sport" [The supportive face of sport]. L'Osservatore Romano (in Italian). 2023-03-04. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  5. ^ Nelsen, Matt (2022-07-05). "The Vatican seeks to chart a new path in the Olympic Movement". Infobae (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-01-18.