2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games: The Allianz Stadium hosts the torch!  | OneFootball

The 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games begins in Turin and Piedmont on Saturday, 8 March, with 1,500 athletes from 100 countries arriving to take part across eight disciplines.

It is a huge event that is expected to have more than 100,000 spectators take it in.

While the Games are ongoing, Piedmont will enjoy hosting days of sports, emotions and incredible life stories, with the athletes showing how determination and courage can overcome any obstacle.

On Monday, 3 March, Juventus was proud to host a delegation of Special Olympics athletes, and a leg of the Torch Run, which is a symbolic relay race through a number of cities that precedes the beginning of the Special Olympics.

Ahead of the Juventus-Verona game, fans had the chance to engage with Moly - the Games’ mascot - and learn about the value and mission of the Games through a number of quizzes.

As well, a group of athletes took part in a guided tour of the Allianz Stadium. The highlight of the evening came at half-time when an athlete and runner spoke to the fans about their experiences.

“It’s a huge pride to represent the Special Olympics Athletes at an important time for our country: the Torino 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games,” aid Andrea Spezzano, triathlon champion.

“It’s an event about sports, but above all one that looks to make our abilities known, to show what we are capable of. The torch that lights our way carries the flame of hope. The hope of us athletes is that there is a better future where stereotypes and prejudices are swept away.”

The collaboration with Special Olympics was also an opportunity to involve the children of the Juventus One Paralympic project. Players and staff took part in the “flag-waving” with Juventus’ anthem playing and, when the torch arrived, they accompanied the delegation onto the pitch.

“Juventus One is Juventus’ Paralympic football project involving athletes with disabilities: whether they’re intellectual, mental, interpersonal, physical or sensory,” said Marco Tealdo. “Our goal is to show that, through football, disability is just one of the many possible human conditions. Juventus One shows that inclusion is not a utopia but a reality that is on its way.”

The collaboration with the Special Olympics is an important one for Juventus, and one that symbolises and celebrates the values of accessibility, inclusion, and equal opportunity in sports.

Special Olympics | The Torch at the Allianz Stadium