A 19-year-long embrace can only be emotional, and the one that the Italian community in New York wanted to reserve for the National Team could not have been more intense. From Newark, the Azzurri delegation reached Spring Place, an elegant venue in Manhattan, where NIAF hosted about 1,000 Italians for a cocktail reception between the Italian-American community and the Azzurri.

"For the FIGC and the National Team," said Federal President Gabriele Gravina in his welcoming remarks, "it is a pleasure and a pride to play in the United States and to be able to share special moments like this with the Italian-American community.

The welcome you gave us both in Miami and New York was exceptional; we were able to touch with our own hands the enthusiasm and love you have for one of the most beautiful Italian symbols: the Azzurra jersey. With this tour, which stems from a transversal project (sports, cultural, commercial and institutional motivations), we have laid the foundations for an ideal bridge that will bring Italy even closer to the United States."

In New York, our compatriots had been waiting for the national team since 2005, then it was the eve of a World Cup that Italy would win, today it is the eve of a European Championship to which Italy presents itself as defending champion after its success in 2021. But, beyond the possible victories and those on their shoulders, for Italians abroad the Azzurra jersey represents the bond with their country and unites all our compatriots around the world, overcoming distances and, as in this case, Oceans. Therefore, to symbolically welcome the Azzurri is to open the doors of one's home to all Italians, showing the pride and pride of so many generations of our compatriots who have landed in the United States.

During the institutional speeches to greet the Azzurri, Robert Allegrini (NIAF President), Giovanni Colavita (Ceo of Colavita Spa), Pierpaolo Monti (Intesa San Paolo Country Manager USA), Fabrizio Di Michele (Italian Consul in New York) spoke.

The meeting, which also raised funds to support scholarships and the grant fund for cultural initiatives, is part of the social activities promoted by the association that brings together the Italian community in the U.S., such as the Anniversary Gala, which each year in Washington DC brings together prominent figures from the country's politics, finance and culture, along with distinguished Italian Americans. Founded in 1975, NIAF today represents more than 20 million Italian Americans living in the United States. Yesterday, among other things, an initial institutional meeting had taken place between NIAF representatives from Florida and the FIGC Delegation in Fort Lauderdale, in the hotel that hosted the National Team.