Italian sport is ready to "fly higher". The President of CONI, Giovanni Malagò, and the CEO of Alitalia, Silvano Cassano, presented today at the Foro Italico a two-year strategic agreement between the Italian National Olympic Committee and the leading Italian airline. With this agreement, involving two Italian excellences, Alitalia will be the official airline for every journey linked to Italian sport and will offer group fares and flight and airport services dedicated to athletes and representatives of Sports Federations.

Specifically, the Olympic Team and the National Teams will benefit from discounted rates for national, international and intercontinental tickets. The athletes and the coaches will also be able to take advantage of various services and special conditions for the transport of sports equipment, a vital point in many disciplines. The agreement between Alitalia and CONI is part of a journey for a growing relationship between the main Italian sporting institution and the main Italian airline in light of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

The President of CONI, Giovanni Malagò, said: "I am extremely happy. Today we celebrate a historic agreement for Italian sport and for the values expressed by these two companies, fundamental for the development of our country also in terms of tradition, culture and customs. CONI and all the Sports Federations proudly state that from today "Sport will fly higher", without neglecting its powerful message of national unity and identity. The building of these values today is an essential mission for CONI, and the agreement with Alitalia will allow us to take advantage of the value of this partnership together with the Federations, for the sake of all the stakeholders. The dutiful CONI is becoming more and more of a hub that enhances its network, its athletes and the entirety of Italian sport by launching promotion and development projects across the whole country. The President then explained how "the agreement is structured in three directions: it improves the commercial field, enhances agreed services such as the boarding of sporting equipment, and finally ensures bonuses linked to the frequency of the activity and to the content of the partnership. I'm sure that every part of our world, even the structure of the Rome 2024 Committee, will fly smoothly with Alitalia. We are very proud of this agreement".

The CEO of Alitalia, Silvano Cassano, stressed the concepts expressed by President Malagò. "We are honored to accompany the Italian athletes in all international competitions to represent our shared colours and values. Seeing Italian sport flying with Alitalia and with our national flag is a beautiful message of unity and national identity. In its history, Alitalia has always accompanied Italian sport. I remember Rome 1960, the return of our national tennis team from Chile in 1976 with the Davis Cup, the adventure of Azzurra in the 1983 America's Cup, the World Championships in Athletics in Rome 1987, the World Cup in Italy in 1990, and the travels of the "Blue Avalanche" for the Ski. We were and we will always be next to the athletes to stress the value of merit and sport and to celebrate all future triumphs." Cassano recalled how "our relationship with Malagò goes back 30 years. We want to believe, we have to believe in youth: we launched a programme for 24 graduates and we selected 400 of them. They are now training in Abu Dhabi and I hope that they will take our place in a matter of years. I will ensure a €10,000 scholarship to every athlete who wins a gold medal in Rio 2016, to give a chance to all the young and worthy athletes that are unable to complete their development due to economic problems. It's an incentive for our young people to to hold their heads up high, promoting Italian excellence".

Welcome aboard: this is the lucky motto of the new CONI-Alitalia agreement.