More than 200 young cancer patients and patients from across Europe participated in the seventh edition of the Winners Cup, which featured a special tournament bringing together the AIOM–AIEOP doctors’ team, parents and patients.
The Winners Cup 2026 brought together more than 200 adolescents and young adults affected by cancer for two days of football, friendship and solidarity in Milan, Italy, on October 9–10.
Held at the Sandro Pertini Sports Centre in Cornaredo, the seventh edition featured 16 teams of young people aged 15–21, undergoing cancer treatment or follow-up care, from oncology centres across Italy and other European countries.
Beyond the sporting competition, the event highlighted the importance of collaboration between healthcare professionals, patients, families and scientific organisations in advancing adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer care.
The Winners Cup: More Than a Football Tournament
Now in its seventh edition, the Winners Cup has become a truly unique event, bringing together adolescents and young patients with cancer from across Italy and Europe through football.
This year, 16 teams participated in the tournament: 12 teams representing 20 Italian oncology centers, alongside four international teams from Spain, Greece, Belgium, and Germany. Previous editions have also welcomed participants from France and the Netherlands.
But the Winners Cup is about much more than football.
These are young people who, at some point in their lives, were forced to exchange their classmates for hospital roommates, and the anxiety of a school exam for the anxiety of waiting for a CT scan result.
For them, the tournament is an opportunity to play, compete, and share their experiences with others who understand what they have been through. They recognize one another through the scars on their bodies and, as Professor Andrea Ferrari describes it, through a special light in their eyes.
On the field and during the evening celebrations, they talk, laugh, sing, and form friendships that go far beyond the tournament.
And once the matches begin, they all want to win.
This year, the team from Genoa claimed the title after defeating Spain in the final. But in many ways, every participant left the tournament a winner.
The significance of the Winners Cup has also been recognized at the highest national level. During a previous edition, the event received the prestigious Alfiere della Repubblica recognition from Italian President Sergio Mattarella. The award was presented to the tournament’s youngest player as a symbolic recognition of all the young participants.
A Special Tournament: Doctors, Parents and Patients Compete
This year, the main tournament also featured a special competition bringing together doctors, parents, and patients: a special three-team tournament held midway through the main competition.
For the first time, the football field brought together three teams representing different communities involved in the cancer journey:
- The AIOM–AIEOP doctors’ team, representing Italy’s two leading scientific societies in adult and paediatric oncology (AIEOP – Associazione Italiana Ematologia Oncologia Pediatrica (Italian Association of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology), AIOM – Associazione Italiana di Oncologia Medica (Italian Association of Medical Oncology).
- The FIAGOP parents’ team, representing parents and families of young people affected by cancer (Federazione Italiana Associazioni Genitori e Guariti Oncoematologia Pediatrica (Italian Federation of Associations of Parents and Patients of Paediatric Cancer)
- The former Winners Cup players’ team, composed of patients who participated in previous editions but have now exceeded the competition’s age limit of 21.
The triangular tournament culminated in a final between the doctors and patients, with the former Winners Cup players securing victory after a penalty shootout.
Their participation carried particular significance. Having previously competed as young patients, the former players returned to the field as part of a growing community of patients, demonstrating that the connections established through the Winners Cup continue long after treatment and beyond the competition’s age limits.
The tournament also created a rare opportunity for doctors, parents and patients to interact outside the clinical environment, reinforcing the importance of relationships, community and long-term support in cancer care.
The AIOM–AIEOP Doctors’ Team Represents a National Commitment to AYA Oncology
The participation of the AIOM–AIEOP doctors’ team was particularly meaningful, reflecting an ongoing national collaboration to improve cancer care for adolescents and young adults in Italy.
The Italian Association of Medical Oncology (AIOM) and the Italian Association of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology (AIEOP) established a national inter-society working group five years ago to address the specific needs of this patient population.
They came to the idea that only by establishing a strong connection between pediatric and adult oncology can the clinical challenges faced by adolescent and young adult patients truly be addressed. These are the patients whom Andrea Ferrari has, for years, described as being “in the middle ground.”
Adolescents and young adults with cancer often fall between paediatric and adult oncology services, creating challenges in accessing specialised treatment, clinical trials and age-appropriate supportive care.
The AIOM–AIEOP collaboration aims to address these gaps through coordinated national initiatives developed in partnership with patient and family associations.
One of its central objectives is to establish a nationally institutionalised AYA oncology programme integrated into Italy’s National Oncology Plan.
The initiative seeks to define minimum essential requirements for centres treating adolescents and young adults, establish dedicated standards of care and develop a national network connecting paediatric and adult oncology services.
These efforts are intended to improve access to multidisciplinary care, age-appropriate treatment pathways, fertility preservation, psychosocial support and long-term patientship services.
The doctors’ participation in the Winners Cup provided a visible demonstration of the cooperation between adult and paediatric oncology specialists, while highlighting the essential role of patients and families in shaping future models of care.
Sixteen Teams, More Than 200 Young People and One Shared Experience
The main Winners Cup tournament featured 16 seven-a-side football teams from oncology centres across Italy and Europe.
The competition concluded with Real Camalli, representing Genoa, winning the 2026 Winners Cup after defeating Seleccion Bar Spagna in the final.
The event also welcomed representatives of FC Internazionale Milano, including Vice-President Javier Zanetti, who attended the opening ceremony, and former Inter players Francesco Toldo and Danilo D’Ambrosio, who joined participants during the tournament.
The competition concluded with Real Camalli, representing Genoa, winning the 2026 Winners Cup after defeating Seleccion Bar Spagna in the final.
The event also welcomed representatives of FC Internazionale Milano, including Vice-President Javier Zanetti, who attended the opening ceremony, and former Inter players Francesco Toldo and Danilo D’Ambrosio, who joined participants during the tournament.
National and European Partnerships Supporting AYA Cancer Care
The Winners Cup 2026 was organised by FC Internazionale Milano, in collaboration with CSI Milano, FIAGOP, AIEOP and the Networks of Expertise (NoEs) on Cancer, with support from Fondazione Bianca Garavaglia and Regione Lombardia.
The involvement of FIAGOP, the Italian Federation of Associations of Parents of Children and Adolescents with Cancer, underscores the important contribution of patient and family organisations to the development of dedicated services and initiatives.
A particularly important feature of this year’s event was the presence of the Networks of Expertise (NoEs) on Cancer, associated with the European Commission’s Joint Action JANE, among the official partners.
The Network of Expertise dedicated to adolescents and young adults with cancer seeks to strengthen collaboration across European countries, promote specialised care and improve the coordination of services for this population.
Its involvement connects the Winners Cup with broader European efforts to address inequalities in cancer care of adolescents and young adults and develop more coordinated approaches for this group of patients.
More Than Football: Building a Future for Young People With Cancer
Over the years, the Winners Cup has developed into a platform that brings together young patients, patients, families, healthcare professionals, scientific societies and patient organisations.
The relationships established through previous editions have contributed to the development of projects across Italian oncology centres focused on improving the experiences and quality of life of adolescents and young adults affected by cancer.
This year’s triangular tournament was a particularly powerful example of that mission.
The participation of patients, parents and the AIOM–AIEOP doctors’ team highlighted how collaboration can continue beyond hospital walls and how patients can remain actively involved in the communities that supported them during treatment.
While the patients celebrated their victory over the doctors in a penalty shootout, the event delivered a much broader message: improving outcomes for adolescents and young adults with cancer requires a shared commitment from medical professionals, patients, families and institutions.
Through initiatives such as the Winners Cup and the growing collaboration between AIOM, AIEOP, FIAGOP and European networks, that commitment is increasingly taking shape both on and off the football field.
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