Lazio was evicted from the Garbatella pool last week, and after that, the club president Massimo Moroli said that Lazio would withdraw from the Italian Serie A1.
Still, the Rome-based club will take part in the Italian First League, as well as the Italian Cup. The club hasn’t released an official statement. However, Italian media writes that Lazio informed the Italian national Federation (Federnuoto) that they would play in the national championship.
The confirmation arrived from Federnuoto. The Federation published the calendar and the draw of the national cup today. Lazio is among the participants. The same 13 clubs which will play in the league, will take part in the Italian Cup. The league was projected with 14 teams, but Sport Management gave up participation.
Lazio didn’t play its matches in the Garbatella pool. But the income of this facility was providing the funds for work and the water polo team’s existence for years.
Meanwhile, Lazio is trying to find companies to sponsor the club. Besides, a former water polo player, Matteo Pietrobelli, who lives in the USA, has launched a fundraiser entitled “Let’s support SS Lazio Nuoto!” on a crowdfunding platform GoFundMe. Anyone can donate money to help Lazio.
Italian Cup
In the first stage of the Italian Cup (September 19 – 20), the teams will be split into four groups.
Group in Genoa: Florentia, Quinto, Pro Recco
Group in Savona: Metanopoli, Trieste, Savona, Telimar
Group in Ostia: Brescia, Lazio, Roma.
Group in Naples: Ortigia, Posillipo, Salerno.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the second round (September26-27). The best four teams from the second round will play at the Final Four (January 29-31).
