Francesca Piccinini and teammates in the Hall of Fame

Volleyball Hall of Fame

After the stop caused by the pandemic, the Italian Volleyball Hall Of Fame, a project created in 2016 on the occasion of FIPAV’s 70th anniversary with the aim of promoting the history, sense of belonging and values of the great Italian volleyball movement, is back. On Wednesday, December 14 at 3 p.m., in fact, the 2022 Hall Of Fame award ceremony will take place in Bologna. The Evaluation and Judging Committee composed of specialized journalists has decided the nominations for the different categories: Male Athlete, Female Athlete, Beach Volleyball, Coach, Manager, Referee.

The 2022 Commission – chaired by Federal President Giuseppe Manfredi and composed of journalists Jacopo Volpi, Stefano Michelini, Leandro De Sanctis, Maurizio Nicita, Diego De Ponti, Leo Turrini, Simona Rolandi, Carlo Gobbi, Flavio Vanetti, Manuela Collazzo, Luca Muzzioli and Dario Ricci and meeting online in recent days – voted for the induction into the 2022 Hall Of Fame of the Women’s National Team and CT Marco Bonitta World Champion in 2002.

Exactly 20 years ago, in fact, the Italian women’s national team wrote one of the most important pages of Italian volleyball. On September 15, 2002, in fact, the Azzurre won their first, historic rainbow title in Berlin, beating the United States 3-2 in the final. The protagonists of that splendid feat led on the bench by Marco Bonitta were Sara Anzanello, Valentina Borrelli, Paola Cardullo, Manuela Leggeri, Eleonora Lo Bianco, Anna Vania Mello, Darina Mifkova, Paola Paggi, Francesca Piccinini, Simona Rinieri, Rachele Sangiuliano and Elisa Togut.

During the meeting, new members of all other categories were also named and will be announced and inducted into the Hall of Fame at the Bologna event. In the coming days all details regarding the award ceremony scheduled in Bologna on December 14 will be announced.