European Opens Cup confirmed for Calvisano, Italy

FIT MEDIA RELEASE

European Opens Cup confirmed for Calvisano, Italy

The Federation of International Touch (FIT) and Italia Touch are pleased to announce that the first European Opens Cup will take place in Calvisano, Italy from Friday 22 to Sunday 24 August 2025.

The new event will feature open-grade representative teams in men’s, women’s and mixed categories from National Touch Organisations (NTOs) across Europe and further afield. Expressions of Interest are now being taken for this Tier 2B event, and NTO’s will have received notification of how to progress this directly.

Commenting on the new event, FIT Director, Mike Abromowitz said:

“We are delighted to be able to bring the first European Opens Cup to Italy next August. I would like to thank Andrea (Corcetto) and Nicolò (Colombo) for their work on behalf of Italia Touch to make this possible.

“Alongside the European Seniors Cup, this new event forms a key part of FIT’s international calendar in Europe as we build towards the European Touch Championships in France in 2026. The Opens Cup aims to provide nations with an opportunity to enter development teams as they prepare for next year.

“FIT recently unveiled the first iteration of our events programme for the next four years as we look ahead towards the next Touch World Cup in New Zealand in 2028 and this announcement will be one of many more over the next few weeks and months as we continue to develop the landscape for international touch competition.”

It is the first international event hosted in Italy since the European Touch Championships were held in Treviso in 2012 and for this reason the new management of Italia Touch are enthusiastic about the prospect of the return of international competition to their shores.

President, Andrea Corcetto said:

“We are proud of what we have done in recent months since our election. We first focused on taking a youth national team - our mixed U18- to the European Junior Championships in Vichy this year. This was a first for Italia Touch and after discussions with Mike (Abromowitz), we expressed our interest in hosting an international event in Italy. We believe this will give more visibility to what we are trying to achieve for Touch in Italy and the work being done for the development of the sport, which we care about so much. We will do our utmost to create a high-level event next summer."

The Head of Italian Technical Development, Nicolò Colombo added:

"This is a great showcase for the development of our movement, thanks to Mike, Chris and Calvisano for giving us this opportunity.”

The first edition of the European Opens Cup will be hosted by Rugby Calvisano and, although the venue has never hosted international touch competitions, it is no stranger to the sport. The venue recently hosted the Italian Mixed Touch Championships in June 2024 and the first championship stage of the first Top Mixed division in November.

Rugby Calvisano President, Gabriele Morelli, said:

“Between Rugby Calvisano and Italia Touch, we now have a healthy collaboration that began this summer at the Championship Finals. We are always looking to consolidate further to improve what already exists. By hosting touch activities and events at our facility, Italia Touch brings great enthusiasm and we will be honoured to host an international event in August 2025 that promises to be of the highest level.”

Entry for the event is expected to open in January, but NTO’s are encouraged to complete the Expression of Interest sent to them directly.

For more information, please contact: [email protected]