User:Arconning/Sport in Vatican City

(in progress draft of Sport in Vatican City)

Sport in Vatican City plays an important role in the culture of the nation. It is used as a way of diplomacy with other nations, bringing the culture of the nation to international attention, and a way of advocating peace.

Historically, sport within the nation has existed since the 1st century, where a race track was built in ancient Rome which is now present day Vatican City. A few centuries later, venues across the nation were used for local sporting events, which have been attended and played by multiple popes. Following the 20th and 21st centuries, more sports organizations have been established by the nation itself and citizens of it to represent the country in local and international tournaments to widen their presence in sport.

History
Vatican sporting history began in the 1st century when a chariot racing track was built in the Circus of Nero, also known as the Circus of Caligula, in what was then ancient Rome. The circus itself was constructed on Vatican hill, one of the seven hills of Rome, was completed in the reign of Emperor Caligula. The circus lasted until between 318 and 322 when Emperor Constantine I ordered construction on the site to be replaced with the Old St. Peter's Basilica.

In the 16th century, the very first game of calcio fiorentino, a predecessor to association football and rugby, was organized by the Papal States and held in the nation on 7 January 1521, in the Cortile del Belvedere, located in the Apostolic Palace. The first match itself was notably attended and organized by Pope Leo X, other matches were attended and played by popes Leo XI, Clement VII and Urban VIII.

Olympic Games
As of May 2024, the Vatican City is not a member of the International Olympic Committee and is therefore not able to send a team to the Olympic Games, though it has made bids to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. To form a National Olympic Committee, the nation's sport federations must conduct sporting activities within the nation and internationally. It also must be affiliated with at least five international federations that govern sports included in the programme of the Games. As of May 2024, two of the nation's sport federations have been affiliated with governing bodies of sports, namely Vatican Cycling with the Union Cycliste Internationale and Vatican Taekwondo with World Taekwondo. The unofficial National Olympic Committee of the state is Vatican Athletics as it houses majority of the nation's sport organizations.

Prior to the designation of Paris as the host of the 2024 Summer Olympics, the city of Rome expressed its intent to host the Games in 2014. Due to the Vatican's location within the city, Pope Francis sent support for the events of archery and football to be held in the nation, specifically at the Gardens of Vatican City and the Palace of Castel Gandolfo. In September 2016, the city withdrew its bid as the host of the Games, leaving it to the city of Paris.

As part of planning to join the Olympic Games, delegations from the nation headed by the head of the nation's sports department in the culture ministry, Melchor Sánchez de Toca Alameda, were present at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea as observers. Pope Francis has also met with IOC President Thomas Bach multiple times for talks to let the nation take part in the Olympic Games opening ceremonies.



Mediterranean Games
The Vatican supplied two athletes to symbolically compete for the nation at the 2022 Mediterranean Games, held in Oran, Algeria, in a "non-scoring" manner. The decision was approved by the local organizers of the Games and Davide Tizzano, the president of the International Committee of Mediterranean Games. Runners Sara Carnicelli and Simone Adamoli were part of the delegation to be the first ever participants from Vatican City to compete in a multi-sport event. Eventually, Carnicelli competed in the women's half marathon, unofficially placing ninth with a time of 1:17:21, and became the first ever athlete for the nation to compete in a multi-sport event following Adamoli's withdrawal from his event.

Games of the Small States of Europe
A delegation from Vatican City was present at the 2019 edition of the Games of the Small States of Europe in Budva, Montenegro, but was only allowed to observe as they were barred from competing due to the absence of a National Olympic Committee alongside the Faroe Islands. They were then set to compete at the 2021 Games of the Small States of Europe held in Andorra la Vella, Andorra, through a partnership with the Italian Olympic Committee signed in 2018, but the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to avoid scheduling conflicts with the 2020 Summer Olympics, which were rescheduled to be held in 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.

Football
The Vatican City is not a member of FIFA; however, representative men's and women's national football teams exist and play friendly matches and in unofficial tournaments. All of the Vatican's football activities are held at Campo Pio XI.

The men's team first unofficial match was against Austrian journalists in 1985 which ended in a score of 3–0 in favor of the former, while the first official match was against San Marino, which ended in a draw. While the women's team first match was against AS Roma, losing to a score of 0–10. The women's team also stirred controversy after one of their matches were abandoned in Simmering, Vienna, on 22 June 2019 as part of the club's twentieth anniversary, after opposing players from FC Mariahilf and bystanders protested about the Catholic Church's stance on abortion and homosexuality during the playing of Vatican City's national anthem.

A local football league, the Vatican City Championship (Campionato della Città del Vaticano), was founded in 1972 and is made up of teams representing employees of the different administrative departments in the Vatican. The league went through many name changes first being called the Coppa Vaticano at its inception, then being renamed the Coppa Amiciza in 1947, and the Campionato della Citta Vaticano in 1981, by Sergio Valci who was former president of the FA and a Vatican healthcare employee until his death in 2012.

Other tournaments held in the nation include the secondary cup Coppa Sergio Valci, which was first named the Coppa ACDV in 1985 then renamed in 1994, and the Vatican Suppercoppa, which started in 2005 and sees the winner of the Vatican City Championship face the Coppa Sergio Valci winners.

Cricket
The Vatican City is not a member of the International Cricket Council; however, a representative national men's cricket team was formed in 2013.

Athletics
Vatican Athletics is the governing body for athletics in the Vatican City.

Cycling
Vatican Cycling became member of the International Cycling Union in September 2021. In 2022, Rien Schuurhuis participated at the UCI Road World Championships representing Vatican City. Schuurhuis became the first Vatican to participate at a World Championship in any sport. He competed in the Elite Men's Road Race but he did not finish the race.

Taekwondo
Vatican Taekwondo became a member of World Taekwondo in November 2021.