Roller hockey, Field Hockey renounces Serie A2

Prato, June 27, 2025 - Hockey Prato will not take part in the next Serie A2 championship, after finishing sixth last year. President Massimiliano Giardi announced this, specifying the decision to restart from Serie B based on the regulation that requires A2 teams to also field a second team in the lower category. “We don’t have the numbers. A painful decision especially for the kids, who deserve A2: it’s their category,” Giardi explained, “but even though we don’t agree with certain rules, we respect them. We are a team entirely “made in Prato” with all the players who grew up in our club. And for a rule that doesn’t benefit the roller hockey movement, we are forced to make this decision.” The times when the then Primavera Prato fought for the Scudetto (and won it, in 2002/03) seem far away today. Representing the city at the highest levels is Stefano Zampoli, who a few days ago became champion of Italy with Hockey Trissino. Finally, the company has further expressed its desire to focus on the youth sector that has been rebuilt in recent years, to try to have a greater number of players to field in the national championships within a few years. "The group is competitive for Serie B and we will set ourselves new goals - continues Giardi - such as the Coppa Italia in the category, taking even more care of the youth teams. We had tried to make agreements with some Tuscan companies that could have excess players for Serie B. But we would not have had certain guarantees, with the risk of perhaps having to give up halfway through the season. For us it does not represent a step backwards, but a step to return in the future to the category that belongs to us".

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