Venice, 7 December 2023. Veneto has been awarded the title of European Sports Region 2024 by ACES. 

The ceremony was held today in Brussels, at the headquarters of the European Parliament. The Regional Councillor for Sport, Cristiano Corazzari, picked up the flag of the European Region of Sport 2024.
The supporters of the candidacy, in addition to the Veneto Region, are: CONI Veneto, CIP Veneto, Sport e Salute, MIM Veneto Regional School Office, Anci Veneto and MSP Movimento Sportivo Popolare Italia.

Statistics reveal that Veneto is the second region in Italy in terms of registered athletes: according to 2018 ISTAT data, it has 481,517 registered athletes, equal to 10.4 percent of the Italian total. As for sports clubs, on the other hand, it ranks in third place with 5,435 associations, equal to 8.7 percent, maintaining a position of national importance.
The most popular sports in Veneto for registered athletes are: athletics, football, basketball, volleyball and tennis. The province of Treviso is characterised by cycling (3,854 athletes), Belluno for winter sports (4,779 athletes), Rovigo for sport fishing (2,375 athletes), Venice for sailing (5,216 athletes), Padua for gymnastics (3,557 athletes), Vicenza for weights (2,678 athletes) and Verona for tamburello (3,883 athletes).
Meanwhile, regarding sports clubs, football is confirmed as the most widespread discipline. This is followed by cycling, volleyball, basketball and sport and underwater fishing.
According to 2020 ISTAT data, in Veneto 43.8% of the population practises sport either on a continuous or occasional basis, while the level of citizens with sedentary lifestyle stands at 21.5%, the 2nd lowest figure in Italy after Trentino Alto Adige.
Veneto has 7,706 sports facilities of which 7,404 (equal to 96%) are fully or partially operational, according to the data collected by the Veneto Region and CONI Veneto referring to 2020: Belluno has 454, Padua 1,333, Rovigo 501, Treviso 1,405, Venice 1,030, Verona 1,489, and Vicenza 1,494.

Public announcement no. 2168 of 7 December 2023