Jose Sanchez
Research expert covering society, economy, & politics for Latin America
Rugby in Italy - statistics & facts
According to a very popular story, but of doubtful authenticity, rugby was invented in 1823, when a pupil of the Although Rugby School in Warwickshire, England, picked up the ball and started to run in the middle of a football match. Legend or not, this game became common at Rugby School during the 1830s, spreading to the rest of the UK during the following decades. In Italy, rugby found its popularity during the first years of the twentieth century and in 1928 the Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) was formed. Then, according to the latest figures published by the Italian National Olympic Committee, the FIR registered over 82 thousand athlete memberships as of 2017.
