MILAN: This could turn out to be Italy’s best Winter Olympics ever after a record-breaking day on home snow and ice.
The host nation picked up six medals on Sunday, the most Italy has ever won in a single day at the Winter Olympics. The breakdown: one silver and five bronze.
Ski star Sofia Goggia kicked it off with a bronze medal in the women’s downhill and Lucia Dalmasso was also third in snowboarding’s parallel giant slalom.
The Italy team won silver in the mixed relay biathlon race and Riccardo Lorello claimed bronze in the men’s speedskating 5,000 meters.
The official X account for the Milan Cortina Games proclaimed it to be Italy’s best day in Winter Olympics history. And that was before Dominik Fischnaller won bronze in men’s singles luge, and before Italy took bronze in the figure skating team event in the evening.
“Competing at home is definitely something unique. The fans did their part,” Lorello said. “I’m very happy to have put the cherry on top tonight. And I’m proud of all of my Italian teammates in the other sports.”
Italy has nine medals after just two days of medal events, with the host nation winning gold, silver and bronze on Saturday.
The Azzurri are almost halfway to their best ever tally at a Winter Games, that was 20 at Lillehammer in 1994.
Italy won 11 medals the last time it hosted the Games, in Turin in 2006. It claimed 17 in Beijing four years ago.
At a ceremony in October to mark 100 days to go until the start of the Milan Cortina Games, Italian Olympic Committee president Luciano Buonfiglio said Italy was aiming for a minimum target of 19 medals.
Italy enjoys a record-breaking day at the Winter Olympics by claiming six medals
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Italy enjoys a record-breaking day at the Winter Olympics by claiming six medals
- The Italy team won silver in the mixed relay biathlon race and Riccardo Lorello claimed bronze in the men’s speedskating 5,000 meters
Footballco launches new Riyadh studio to boost creator-led content boom
- Football media company’s venture caters for its Arabic video-first brands
- Footballco also plans to create in-studio formats for its fan-driven series, Yalla Fans, previously shot on location at football stadiums
RIYADH: Football media and culture company Footballco have opened a new production studio in Riyadh.
The move allows it to boost the volume of in-studio content created for its leading Arabic video-first football brands — Yalla Goal, Yalla Fans and Yalla Girl, as well as branded content for commercial partners.
The new studio complements Footballco’s Riyadh office, which opened in December 2024 as its Middle East headquarters. Footballco’s move to the city was driven by a desire to better serve clients in Saudi Arabia and to bring it closer to the country’s burgeoning football industry. The company now has 20 full-time staff in the Kingdom.
Footballco currently operates three video-first Arabic-language football brands in the region, all targeting Gen-Z and Gen-Alpha fans and fronted by experienced content creators. Yalla Goal combines spirited discussions, bold challenges and fun games, while Yalla Girl celebrates the growth of women’s football in Saudi Arabia and the region, with a focus on talent, personality, laughter and friendship. Footballco also plans to create in-studio formats for its fan-driven series, Yalla Fans, previously shot on location at football stadiums.
The company’s decision to invest in creator-led, in-studio video formats is backed by its own research which found that, for young fans, brand partnerships with creators are seen as more valuable than official tournament partnerships.
Footballco’s new studio will increase the frequency of video content created for its channels, supported by two full-time hosts for Yalla Goal — Mohammed Bargat and Waleed Al-Shargi (better known as Shargi), who have a combined following of over 900,000 on their personal channels.
Andy Jackson, Footballco’s Middle East senior vice president, said: “With seven national teams from the region set to appear at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, eight if Iraq qualify through the play-offs, these new facilities and increasing video output sets our brands up for success at a time where we know there will be an unprecedented demand for fun, creator-led video content.
“We’re also excited to welcome both Bargat and Shargi to the team, with both having more than proved themselves as understanding how to create content that resonates with young fans and they are already familiar to our audiences.”
He added: “In December, our Arabic social channels generated over 1.7 billion video views, so we are building from an incredibly strong base to further cement our position as the clear market leader both in Saudi Arabia and the wider region. Our creator-led video formats have proved incredibly popular with brands, and this investment will see us able to offer a broader range of opportunities to our many commercial partners.”
While the World Cup this summer will see Footballco’s new studio in constant use, the company is also readying a slate of programming across Ramadan, with a 30-show spread culminating in an Eid special.
Taha Imani, Footballco’s head of video and social in the Middle East and North Africa region, said: “With YouTube becoming the number one place for fans to enjoy longform and short-form football content, and based on success across Footballco brands such as The Front Three in other markets, we’re expecting to grow at speed as we approach the World Cup giving fans exactly what they want from us on a daily basis.”
