World Championship Pétanque 2025 Rome

Rome awaits the stars of Pétanque who, coming from over 50 countries, will compete for five world titles - women's and men's singles, women's and men's doubles, and mixed doubles - at the world championships of this famous sport played with balls and a jack, a discipline that requires considerable technical skill.

In one of the most evocative locations in Rome and the world, the Galoppatoio (Galloping Track) in Villa Borghese, the countdown has begun to the World Pétanque Championships, one of the six boules specialities of the Federazione Italiana Bocce (FIB), which is organising one of the most prestigious events on the 2025 calendar with the support of the Ministero dello Sport (Ministry of Sport) and the Ministero dell'Ambiente (Ministry of the Environment), the Regione Lazio (Lazio Region) and the Comune di Roma (Municipality of Rome).

Pétanque, a popular sport that is growing rapidly worldwide, consists of throwing balls as close as possible to the jack or knocking out the opponent's balls or the jack itself. Unlike other sports, pétanque players must play with their feet firmly planted within a throwing area marked by a circle with a diameter of between 35 and 50 centimetres, and the jack must be thrown at a distance of between 6 and 10 metres. The game includes several different types of play: individual, pairs and triples.

The Italian national team has high expectations for the World Pétanque Championships and will be competing with two teams selected by technical commissioners Mosé Nassa and Riccardo Capaccioni, with the collaboration of their deputies Laura Trova and Gianluca Rattenni. Team 1 includes Diego Rizzi, Alessio Cocciolo, Vanessa Romeo and Sara Ferrera, while Team 2 is composed of Andrea Chiapello, Davide Laforé, Alessia Bottero and Sara Dedominici.

The World Championships will kick off with the first matches on the morning of Thursday 18 September, during which the opening ceremony will also be held. The finals, broadcast live on Rai Play, are scheduled for Sunday 21 September.