It really happened. In Piazza Santa Croce in Florencelast June 12th, on the occasion of the 106th edition of Pitti Immagine Uomothe brand US Polo Assn. together with the support of FISE (Italian Equestrian Sports Federation) managed to combine two spectacular and historic team sports, the historic Florentine football and the polo match among the national teams of Italy and Francegiving rise to Florence Polo Tribute 2024.
But how did this initiative come about? “The initial idea was to let people know citizens of Florence the world of polo and to the guests of Pitti historical Florentine football” He reveals to us Lorenzo Nencini CEO of Incomthe brand’s licensee for Mediterranean Europe US Polo Assn., who grew up in Florence and who speaks to us about this event with great pride. “At first glance it would seem that there is no connection, but instead they are two parallel worlds with many affinity. First of all the historicity: they are two disciplines born more than 500 years ago” continues Nencini, who adds: “Thus we managed to be welcomed with polo into the theater of historical football, which has been held in Piazza Santa Croce since the 16th century”.
This ancient team play in costume it recalls football, even if in its fundamentals it is much more reminiscent of rugby, with a side dish of hand-to-hand clashes between boxing and wrestling. The polo gameas we have already seen, is a team sport in which two formations of four players (in this case being an arena polo there were three), riding horses and equipped with cues, face each other with the aim of scoring goals, respecting there rule of not crossing the imaginary line that goes from when the ball is hit to when it lands, thus avoiding collision and danger.
So at 5.30pm, in the heart of the city, the historical football was held first, in a match lasting around 50 minutes, followed by the friendly polo match between Italy (composed by Stefano Giansanti, Camila Rossi and Giordano Flavio Magini) And France that he saw the French team triumphed 8-6, in a gripping match that really felt the warmth of an excited audience. Both teams wore customized jerseys US Polo Assn. double horsemen performance.
When the pole speaker, Gianluca Maginiaccompanied by the actor’s comments Roberto Ciufoli, involved the public by asking: “How many are attending a polo tournament for the first time?”, many raised their hands. It is thus, thanks to these large projects, that the brand’s intentions are concretely realized US Polo Assn.: literally bringing polo to the streets, bringing it closer to more and more people.
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Also J. Michael Prince, Global CEO of the US Polo brand Assn., also present at the Firenze Polo Tribute 2024, stated: “It was an honor to play polo on the same ground as historic football, which represents a much-loved city tradition, in front of thousands of Florentine fans. Our partnerships amplifies the sharing of our values and passion for sport“.
