L'Italy also takes the field against type 1 diabetes
This evening there is one more reason to watch the Azzurri take on Northern Ireland in Bergamo in the play-off semifinal of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers: the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio will be alongside the Italian Diabetes Foundation (FID) to support a major awareness initiative. During the match, in fact, the commercial “Get on the field for the cure of type 1 diabetes” will be broadcast, featuring Massimo Ambrosini and Leonardo Bonucci as exceptional testimonials. The two champions will invite fans and enthusiasts to concretely support research by contributing a donation via solidarity SMS to the number 45594 or through the website fondazionediabete.org. The campaign has obtained the support of RAI for ESG Sustainability through the channels of RAI Sport.
“The only way to win the game against type 1 diabetes is to all play on the same team,” says Nicola Zeni, President of the Italian Diabetes Foundation. “This initiative represents an extraordinary opportunity to bring the attention of the general public to a disease that is still too little known and to concretely support scientific research. Thanks to the support of the FIGC and the visibility of the national team, we can involve millions of people in a fundamental challenge: finding a definitive cure for type 1 diabetes. Every contribution can make a difference.”
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune, chronic, degenerative disease for which, to date, there are no prevention tools or definitive cure. In about half of the cases it occurs in pediatric or adolescent age.
Approximately 250,000 people in Italy are living with this disease, forced to undergo daily insulin administration and complex disease management. Insulin, in fact, represents a life-saving therapy but not a cure, and it does not eliminate the risk of hypoglycemic crises in the short term nor that of serious complications in the long term.
The Italian Diabetes Foundation ETS is the main organization in Italy committed to funding scientific research to arrive at a definitive cure for type 1 diabetes.
In 16 years of activity, FID has supported about 50 research projects internationally, with a total investment of nearly 2.5 million euros. As of 2026, the Foundation is also the only Italian institution to fund a European consortium dedicated to cell therapies, one of the most promising frontiers in the fight against the disease.
In parallel, FID is active on the institutional advocacy front and has promoted Law 130/2023, which introduces screening for type 1 diabetes and celiac disease in children.
