Soccer
The sport of soccer was imported from England and was adopted quite early in Turin, where the Italian Football Federation was founded on 15th March 1898. It is currently known as the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio. During the first years of the 20th century the championship was dominated by the Piedmontese “quadrilatero”, made up of the four teams from Vercelli, Novara, Casale and Alessandria. Then the city of Turin joined the group when the Juventus team was started in 1897. A few years later, in 1906, a group of soccer supporters founded the city’s other major team, Torino Calcio. Thus, in a very short time the sport became incredibly popular. Over the years the skilful playing of many great Piedmontese champions such as Borel, Piola, Gabetto, Parola, Boniperti, Rivera, and Bettega helped the sport reach its epic level of popularity.
Today, it is no longer necessary to belong to a professional team if you want to play a little soccer. You just have to contact one of the many associations that organize amateur tournaments or, you can book a five-a-side soccer pitch (campo di calcetto) for a few hours and play with some friends.
