by InTrieste
The Friuli Venezia Giulia regional government will invest €1.923 million in physical education and school sports during the 2026–27 academic year, increasing funding by €563,000 — more than 41 percent — compared with the previous year.
The announcement was made by Regional Education Councilor Alessia Rosolen during the Sport & Scuola webinar, which presented the region’s school sports initiatives under Regional Law 13/2018. The program aims to expand access to structured physical activity from preschool through secondary education, with 93 of the region’s 95 comprehensive school institutes already enrolled.
Rosolen said the funding would strengthen a four-part educational model that introduces qualified instructors, federation coaches and additional hours of physical education throughout students’ school careers. During the 2025–26 school year, the program delivered more than 50,000 hours of physical activity.
Funding across all school levels
The 2026–27 budget allocates:
- €550,000 for the final year of preschool and first-year primary classes;
- €650,000 for second and third-year primary students;
- €200,000 for introducing sports disciplines in upper primary and secondary schools through coaches from the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) and the Italian Paralympic Committee (CIP);
- €500,000 to expand curricular physical education in lower and upper secondary schools through the regional Pacchetto Scuola initiative;
- €23,000 for sports-focused high schools.
The total represents a substantial increase from the €1.36 million allocated during the 2025–26 academic year.
Focus on inclusion
Regional officials said inclusion remains a central component of the program. Last year, 72 schools requested support from federation coaches, reaching 1,673 classes. Each participating school selected five sports to offer students, with at least one adapted or inclusive discipline included in its program.
For the first phase of the 2026–27 school year, schools have requested 371 interventions in preschool and mixed-age classes, along with more than 1,230 activities across the first three years of primary school. Additional applications for federation coaches in upper primary and secondary schools will be collected through the end of September.
The regional initiative is coordinated by the Regional School Office, CONI Friuli Venezia Giulia, CIP Friuli Venezia Giulia, Sport e Salute, and the Universities of Udine and Trieste. It also includes the MIA (Movement, Inclusion, Nutrition) research project, conducted with the Italian Liver Foundation, to evaluate the program’s impact on students’ physical activity, healthy lifestyles and the inclusion of children with disabilities and other special educational needs.
