A World Masters Championship has a significance that goes beyond the purely competitive aspect. Until a few years ago it was a cliché to think that sport at a high level could be practised up to a certain age and that, once one had passed a hypothetical limit, one would have to give up competition and inevitably return to a ‘more calm’ sporting category. Things are changing even in this and to participate in a Masters World Championship is now a widespread and appreciated opportunity, testifying to the innate competitive spirit that characterises those who interpret their sporting discipline as a way of life, athletes who remain such despite time. training and committing their time with the clear and determined objective of participating in an international competition, especially a world championship. The goal is already achieved when you go to the registration click, all that comes after is a path of meticulous and exciting preparation, which will lead to the appointment.

This healthy competitive spirit is also found in the Italian Table Tennis Federation which, well led by President Di Napoli, demonstrated once again its competence and recognised professionalism, values now also appreciated by the International Federation, so much so as to assigned this major event to Italy, in preference to seven other candidate countries.

At the 2024 edition of the ITTF WORLD MASTERS TABLE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS, to which the Department for Sport of the Council of Ministers’ Presidency will give its support, the Paralympic athletes will participate for the first time; a clear sign, in its normality, of the Federation’s desire to make not only this event, but its entire activity, inclusive, accessible and socially qualified.

However, the Italian Federation does not stop at the sport competition, but is also committed to setting a good example from an environmental point of view with the aim of organising a zero-impact event, starting from practically eliminating the use of paper and plastic, going further in the same direction already undertaken at the European Championships where the use of paper was almost nil, aiming to arrive at the environmental certification of the event and intervene with the relative compensation of the impact.

I therefore praise the entire Federation, the organising committee, the volunteers, the other institutions and the partners who will work to ensure that the 2024 edition of the World Masters Championships will be realised in the best possible way.

A heartfelt “good luck”, expressed with emotion, to the athletes who’ll arrive from all over the world and will animate the playing areas at the Fiera Di Roma with their colours and passion, contributing, also with their competitive spirit, to imprint in everyone’s memory the 2024 edition of this major competition, that has the added charm of being hosted in our Nation’s Capital, a city which will know how to be, as always, welcoming and evocative.

Andrea Abodi

Welcome! Italy proves, once again, to be the perfect setting for hosting major events of all kinds. Sports tourism is a growing sector that can turn into a flywheel for the economy of the Capital Territory and all of Italy. And these kinds of events are a feather in our nation’s cap.
I congratulate Fitet for being able to win the organization of such an important tournament!

Best of luck to all the participants, organizers, athletes and all those involved in the World Masters Table Tennis Championships !

Daniela Santanchè

“Sports diplomacy is a valuable tool to strengthen and promote an image of Italy that is inclusive, based on dialogue and respect for rules. Sport unites different peoples and cultures, promoting cooperation between countries,” commented Council Vice President and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. “I congratulate the Italian Tennis Federation for involving more than 6,000 athletes from 108 different nations who will come to Rome in July for the World Master Table Tennis Championships. Each athlete will be an ambassador of their country, bringing their culture and traditions to Italy. We look forward to seeing you in Rome for a great event not only of sports, but also of diplomacy and peace.”

Antonio Tajani

Hosting, as the Lazio Region, the World Masters Tennis Volleyball Championships fills us with pride and satisfaction because, even before the competition can begin, we already know that the highest and noblest values of sport will triumph above all. First and foremost, a Masters Championship enshrines the sporting philosophy, geared toward mental and physical well-being, that animates the over athletes, a wonderful example to many table tennis fans (and others) of a healthy lifestyle that contemplates movement and sporting activity. A masters world championship that thus breaks down the age barrier as well as sweeping away another barrier: that related to the usability and exclusion of athletes with disabilities.

The FITeT has done, in this direction, an outstanding job because it has espoused the line of inclusiveness of the Lazio Region’s Sports Department and expanded the competition to include Paralympic athletes, so that competitive tennis, among the most inclusive disciplines by constitution, is definitely accessible and all-inclusive. In wishing good work to the FITeT for the 2024 edition of the ITTF WORLD MASTERS TABLE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS, I would like to emphasize how initiatives of this caliber have the merit of bringing together the universes of sports, social and tourism, since more than 6 thousand athletes from more than 100 nations will arrive, thus generating an economic-tourist flow of considerable impact, with important spin-offs for the economy of our beautiful region. Thus, an event that transcends sports competition to synergistically embrace numerous areas, not the least of which is sustainability and environmental friendliness through initiatives to reduce emissions and waste during the event. It only remains, then, to wish the athletes good luck.

Happy World Masters Championship to all!

Elena Palazzo

We are happy to host the World Masters Tennis Championships in Rome. The city is ready to welcome some 10,000 athletes and accompanying persons and confirm itself as the Capital of Sports. A title we have earned in the field over the past two years. Suffice it to say that between 2022 and 2023 alone we hosted the Ryder Cup in Golf, the Final Stage of the Giro d’Italia, the World Skate Championships, the World Triathlon Championships, the World Volleyball Championships, the 6 Nations Rugby Championships, the World Taekendoo Championships, Equestrian Sports in Piazza di Siena and Circus Maximus, the International Tennis Championships of Italy, then the European Swimming Championships and the World Judo Championships. The European Athletics Championships will be held soon. It¹s in this beautiful setting, of a Roman renaissance that is good for the city and the country, that we gladly support the World Masters Tennis Championships.
A new sporting event that we will tell the city about and that is sure to thrill Romans and tourists alike. We will make available to the delegations the beautiful Hall of the Protomoteca, in the house of the Roman women and men, in the Capitol, to give the right welcome to the athletes and their companions. Leaving them with indelible memories of our city.

Alexander Honoré

The strength of tennis table combined with the magic of Rome for a World Masters Championships to remember. In 2024, the capital will be transformed into the theatre of the world championship reserved for the over 40s from more than 80 nations with the opportunity to promote the best aspect of the discipline, a key spot for conveying its beauty and making it appreciated at every level.

I am delighted that our country will once again become the venue for a major competitive event, confirming the vocation and tradition that have always accompanied us and pushed us to pursue new, important goals, also in view of the organisation of the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The occasion allows me to extend my sincerest congratulations to the Italian Table Tennis Federation which – after the success recorded thanks to the organisation of the recent European Masters Championships – was awarded the event by outbidding seven other bids, synonymous with the credibility it boasts in the international arena and an expression of its desire to further increase the content of its activities.

On my own behalf, and on behalf of the Italian National Olympic Committee, I extend the most sincere greetings to the athletes who will be the protagonists in the World Championships hosted in the capital just a few days before the Paris Games, certain that they will know how to write another page of table tennis and sport under the banner of emotions!

Giovanni Malagò

Inclusion, barrier removal, and sustainability. Once again, sports demonstrates its extraordinary power. From July 6 to 14, Rome will become the world capital of international tennis volleyball thanks to the Masters Championships. More than 6,000 athletes over 40 will do battle, proving that you can practice a discipline at a high level at any age. And for the first time, the ITTF WORLD MASTERS TABLE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS will also host Paralympic athletes.
Inclusion, then, but also respect for the environment because they will be an all-sustainable World Cup.

I want to congratulate the Italian Tennis Volleyball Federation and its President Di Napoli and best of luck to the athletes who will flock to the
pavilions of the New Rome Fairgrounds.

I wish everyone a wonderful experience to live with a smile and a desire for sports.

Marco Mezzaroma

From 6 to 14 July Rome will become the world capital of the international table tennis movement thanks to the World Masters Table Tennis Championships. An event that represents a significant appointment not only for the competion but also for the organization. The numbers of this event, in fact, are enormous: over 5,000 athletes representing more than 80 countries in 7 days of competitions, around 2,500 companions, in addition to more than 200 referees, 200 volunteers and over 100 officials.

A challenge which, I am sure, the Italian Table Tennis Federation will be able to honor with the competence and professionalism which have always distinguished it and which make it one of the most virtuous federations in both the Olympic and Paralympic panoramas.

The Masters World Championships also represent a great moment of inclusion. The presence of Olympic and Paralympic athletes on the same competition field is the real added value of this event, a new and significant step in that cultural journey that has seen us all engaged for years in promoting a different perception of disability. A real sports festival which can also be, at the same time, an extraordinary opportunity to promote an idea of sport without barriers and borders as well as a tool for well-being, socializing and integration.

Therefore, I can only address to all of you my most sincere wishes for the excellent success of the event, emphasizing, once again, all my appreciation for the work carried out by President, Renato Di Napoli, by the Secretary General and Event Director, Giuseppe Marino, and by the whole FITET.

And, of course, a big good luck to all the participants with the hope that it will be for everyone not only an opportunity for fun but also for personal growth and enrichment.

Luca Pancalli

It is with great pleasure that, on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce of Rome, I welcome the athletes participating in the 2024 Table Tennis Masters World Championships.
It is an honor for our city to host this world-class sporting event at the Fiera di Roma, which sees the involvement of more than 5,000 athletes from over 80 nations.
An initiative encouraged by the Chamber of Commerce in the awareness that the World Masters Table Tennis Championships are fully part of the events that Rome can and must host as a great capital.
Rome is an Olympic city: here, in 1960, the first great modern Olympics were born.
And, by its very vocation, it is destined to attract major international events, including sports. Just think of the Rome City Marathon, when every year thousands of athletes from all over the world run side by side in the streets of our city.
We are still thinking of the XXXVI edition of the 2022 European Swimming Championships, the Six Nations of rugby, the International Tennis Torurnament and the International Horse Show in Rome (Piazza di Siena).
All events in which the value of healthy competition is well expressed as well as the key role of sport for our society, in terms of psychophysical well-being and mutual understanding between different cultures.
I wish all athletes participating in the World Master Table Tennis Championships 2024 to achieve their sporting goals.
I am sure that their passion for this beautiful sport, added to the experience of a welcoming city, will result in an indelible memory.
Enjoy our unique city in the world!

Lorenzo Tagliavanti