The countdown to the XXV INTERNATIONAL FAIR PLAY MENARINI AWARD has begun and this year's event was officially announced today at the Press Conference in Rome. Following on from the presentation of the 2021 programme, the names of the winners who will be acknowledged on 1st September for their fair play and ethical behaviour in sports, were revealed. This edition is set to reach new heights in celebrating in a very special way the 25th anniversary of the award, which was established in 1997 with the intent of highlighting the best possible values in the world of sport. In the year in which the Italian National Football team won the Euro 2020 championship, and the opening of the Tokyo Games is drawing closer, the XXV edition of the Fair Play Menarini award is set to bring together champions and sporting legends who, through their stories and examples, will showcase the best and most passionate side of sport. This year will also see the introduction of a Special Category "Model for the Younger Generation," dedicated to the memory of Champion footballer Paolo Rossi, and will be conferred to two top ranking sportsmen from the world of football, Hans Mueller and Marco Tardelli. The world of soccer will also be represented this year by coach Siniša Mihajlovic, Dutch footballer Patrick Stephan Kluivert, and former referee Pierluigi Collina, who shall be joined by other sporting legends such as Swedish coach and former tennis player Stefan Edberg, boxer Patrizio Oliva (also known as "Sparrow hawk"), former basketball player in the Cantù team, Pierluigi Marzorati, and Hungarian record holding swimmer, Katinka Hosszú. Accompanying the awards is Pharmaceutical Group Menarini which has chosen to associate its name with the ethical values and fair play that the event represents. "The XXV edition of the International Fair Play Menarini Award will also be an occasion to acknowledge, through the positive values of sport, the enormous effort the healthcare professionals, researchers and all those who are on the front line are making to defeat this terrible pandemic," commented Ennio Troiano, Global Head of Human Resources Menarini. "In this historical moment of starting over we hope that the values of fair play may guide us in facing other such challenges in the future." The 25th edition of the Fair Play Menarini Award will open on 30th August in Castiglion Fiorentino and continue on 31st August in Florence. The award ceremony will be staged and broadcast live on Sportitalia on 1st September hosted by Lorenzo Dallari and Rachele Sangiuliano. The XXV International Fair Play Menarini Awards winners: Hans-Peter Mueller and Marco Tardelli – Special prize in memory of Paolo Rossi, "Model for the younger generation" Sinisa Mihajlovic – "Sport and health" Massimo Bonini – "Fair play" Pierluigi Collina – "Values of sport" Eleonora Maria Goldoni – "Fair play and solidarity" Patrick Stephan Kluivert – "Social values of sport" Stefan Edberg – "Sporting career and fair play" Pierluigi Marzorati – "Lifetime of sport" Matteo Marconcini – "Promoting sport" Patrizio Oliva – "Sport and life" Katinka Hosszú – "Fair Play life model" Romano Battisti – "Sport beyond Sport" Lucia Blini – Special Prize in memory of Franco Lauro, "Narrating the emotions" Follow us on Social Media: Facebook: @PremioFairPlayMenarini Twitter: @PremioFairPlay Instagram: @PremioFairPlay_Menarini YouTube: Premio Internazionale Fair Play Menarini The official hashtags: #FairPlayMenarini #PremioFairPlayMenarini #XXVFairPlayMenarini Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1574956/Menarini_Fair_Play_Logo.jpg Source: Menarini I.F.R.