Friedkin set to arrive in Rome as pre-season begins

Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini has delivered a message to Roma's ownership about the conditions required to build a successful team. In his press conference, Gasperini stated: "To make a team great, I believe it is important to have a company with ownership that is very involved." The remarks come as Roma continue their 2026-27 campaign under the Friedkin Group, who took control of the club in August 2020. Gasperini's comments underline the importance of backing and engagement from the ownership structure as the club pursues its ambitions. In the same conference, Gasperini confirmed that goalkeeper Mile Svilar will be sidelined for approximately one month with a foot injury, with Pierluigi Gollini set to cover his absence. Defender Konstantinos Koulierakis is also out of contention during the upcoming international break.

Lorenzo Pellegrini and the Roma Autistic Football Club visited Rebibbia prison on 10 October to mark World Mental Health Day, playing a friendly match against a team representing the institution. The initiative brought together Roma's special-needs squad and the prison's inmates in an event centred on sport as a vehicle for inclusion and connection across barriers. Pellegrini, Roma's captain, reflected on the experience afterwards: "It was truly a very special day here for all of us today, both for the Roma Special boys and for the Rebibbia boys, and for me as well. It was a day full of sport, full of love linked certainly to Roma, which through these events always shows its attention and love for all the people who follow it." The visit formed part of Roma's broader social initiatives programme, which focuses on promoting inclusion and raising awareness of mental health and psychological wellbeing. Players involved in the friendly also shared their reflections on the day. One recalled: "After finding out that Pellegrini would be coming I didn't sleep for hours last night." The event concluded with remarks from Maria Donata Iannantuono, director of Rebibbia Prison, and Lucia Bernabè, Roma's head of institutional relations.

AS Roma's new stadium project at Pietralata is moving closer to the operational phase, with construction now targeted to begin in 2027. The plan has progressed through administrative phases, and Sport Minister Andrea Abodi provided an update on the development. Abodi outlined the current status of the project: "We are very advanced. The decisive service conference has closed its process, the Pauc has been approved. Now we are moving toward the drafting of the final and executive project and then there will be a tender." The next steps involve completing the detailed project specifications before moving to the bidding stage for construction contracts.