Daniele Sigalot's Coppa Pizzeria: A Container Colosseum for Absurdist Football Performance
In early May 2025, the 13th Coppa Pizzeria football tournament was organized by artist Daniele Sigalot (born in Rome, 1976) at the port of Naples, featuring the iconic Mount Vesuvius in the background. Constructed from stacked shipping containers, the arena was completed in just 48 hours. Each match, lasting five minutes, involved two-player teams with no established rules. The competition included 34 teams, such as Azz and Ultrans, with participants donning costumes like a banana-owl pair and a player in a trash can outfit, who secured two trophies. Above the arena hung a Subbuteo figurine. Although Sigalot initially declared this the final edition, he later announced that the 2026 tournament will take place in Venice during the Art Biennale, evolving from casual games in Berlin.
Key facts
- Daniele Sigalot organized the 13th edition of Coppa Pizzeria in early May 2025 at the port of Naples.
- The arena was made of shipping containers stacked four high, assembled and dismantled in 48 hours.
- Matches lasted 5 minutes with 2-player teams and no rules; the referee could validate nonexistent goals.
- 34 teams participated with names like Azz, Fragili sussulti, Le serenissime, Le gattare, Ultrans, and Tutto passa.
- A player dressed as a trash can won both the Narciso costume prize and the most artistic gesture trophy.
- A Subbuteo player figurine was suspended by a crane above the arena as a tableau vivant.
- Sigalot announced the 2026 edition will be in Venice during the Art Biennale.
- The project started from informal games in Berlin at Sigalot's studio La Pizzeria.
Entities
Artists
- Daniele Sigalot
- Matthew Barney
- Rirkrit Tiravanija
- Tino Sehgal
- Douglas Gordon
- Philippe Parreno
- Frank Zappa
- Carl Gustav Jung
- Lucien Lévy-Bruhl
- Paolo Sorrentino
- Pericle Guaglianone
Institutions
- La Pizzeria
- Kursaal
- Art Biennale
- Artribune
- Amazon
Locations
- Rome
- Italy
- Berlin
- Germany
- Naples
- Vesuvius
- Ostia Lido
- Venice