Toronto’s Italian soccer fans are facing a familiar disappointment this summer. For the second consecutive tournament, Italy has failed to qualify for the world’s biggest sporting event, leaving generations of Azzurri supporters without a team to rally behind.
Eataly, however, has found a way to turn that heartbreak into content.
The Yorkville marketplace has launched its largest marketing campaign to date: a seven-minute short film called The Piazza starring Italian soccer legend Alessandro Del Piero. Released today on Eataly’s social channels, the film follows a group of kids who set out to snap a glum Del Piero out of his post-qualification funk.
The campaign, created by New York agency Johannes Leonardo, leans into Italy’s absence from the tournament, shifting the focus from soccer to the country’s food, culture and tradition of gathering around the table.
The film serves as the centrepiece of Eataly’s summer soccer programming across North America. In Toronto, that means plenty of opportunities to catch a match while digging into a few Italian favourites.
Throughout the tournament, Eataly’s Yorkville location will broadcast games and offer a series of limited-time food specials tied to match days. Morning kickoffs will be accompanied by traditional Italian breakfast pairings such as cappuccino and cornetto, while later matches will feature Roman-style pizza alla pala served alongside cold drinks.
The programming is aimed less at supporters of any one team and more at the ritual of tournament season itself — gathering around a screen, debating calls, celebrating unlikely goals and lingering over food and drinks long after the final whistle.
Matches will be shown throughout the tournament. More information on schedules and specials is available through Eataly’s summer soccer programming.