Italy was not picked to advance to the quarterfinals in the women's Olympic hockey tournament. They punched that ticket with wins over France and Japan, an accomplishment "worth as much as a gold medal in another sport."
Few expected Italy to be facing Canada or USA in the women's Olympic hockey tournament in Milano Cortina. But that's what will happen this week as the hosts punched their ticket to the quarterfinals beating France and Japan.
The accomplishment, according to Italian Ice Sports Federation president Andrea Gios was worth as much as a gold medal to the nation.
"The qualification of our women's national team to the quarterfinals of the Olympic tournament is worth as much as a gold medal in another sport," said Gios in a translated statement.
"Getting among the top eight teams in the world seemed an impossible goal until a few months ago, but instead we achieved it thanks to commitment, vision, and a serious and structured program. The credit goes first and foremost to our girls, who have splendidly honored the blue jersey, and to the work of the Federation, which believed with conviction in a special project dedicated to women's hockey and which today is reaping concrete results."
Italy spent two months in Canada training in Montreal prior to the games. It was an opportunity set up by Montreal Victoire general manager and Hockey Hall of Fame member Daniele Sauvageau who was charged with building Italy's women's hockey program for the 2026 Olympics.
Gios was thrilled with the success of Italy's women's hockey team, and the investments the Federation made in the program paid off. From a spectator standpoint, Italy drew a tournament high 10,727 fans for their preliminary round game against Sweden.
"This is a huge satisfaction to be shared also with the Italian clubs, who have supported the national team with great willingness, sometimes even at the cost of sacrifice," said Gios. "The hope is that this result, achieved in an extremely prestigious Olympic context, will contribute to an ever-increasing understanding of how hockey is a sport of great value, capable of offering opportunities, emotions, and positive role models to girls as well, just as it does in the men's sector. A journey that demonstrates how investing in women's sport means investing in the future of the entire country. movement."
Italy currently does not have girls-only hockey programming in the nation, an issue which has forced top domestic players like Matilde Fantin, Nadia Mattivi, and Martina Fedel to leave home to find better competition. It's a trend that has continued as almost the entirety of Italy's U-18 national team roster played boy's hockey in Italy, or left the nation for nations like Switzerland, Finland, and Canada to play with and against stronger girls.
For national team captain Nadia Mattivi, who didn't see women or girls playing hockey growing up, the opportunity to showcase this event on home soil, and achieve the success Team Italy has, is a dream come true.
"What a feeling, indescribable," said Mattivi. "If you had asked me 10 years ago, when I started playing for the national team, whether I would reach an Olympic quarterfinal, I would have laughed. But we're here, and it's thanks to the entire team: the players and the staff. I'm incredibly proud and happy that we were able to demonstrate our talent, the talent of a team that has worked incredibly hard over the last four months."