CONTAINER STADIUM BUILT IN NAPLES PORT

Coppa Pizzeria

Summary:

• Artist Daniele Sigalot created a temporary football stadium using 250 stacked shipping containers in Naples port
• The Coppa Pizzeria tournament features unconventional rules including audience participation and costume competitions
• Professional port workers assembled and dismantled the 60-meter-high structure within 48 hours

Naples port hosted an unusual football tournament in 2025, where shipping containers formed the walls of a temporary stadium. The structure, built from 250 containers stacked and arranged in a circle around the playing field, reached over 60 meters in height.

Daniele Sigalot, the artist behind this project, has organized the Coppa Pizzeria tournament annually since 2011. The competition began in Berlin and has since traveled to various locations, each selected for its unconventional nature. Professional port workers in Naples assembled and later dismantled the container stadium in just 48 hours, with the lower containers serving as changing rooms for players.

The tournament operates without strict regulations. Matches follow a knockout format, with each game lasting approximately five minutes. Teams consist of only two players, who often wear elaborate costumes rather than traditional football attire. This year's participants dressed as gladiators, creating the impression of matches taking place in an artificial Colosseum when combined with the container walls.

The playing field features small goals that are not always clearly visible. Spectators play an active role in each match and can intervene to defend the goals when needed. Thirty-four teams competed in the 2025 edition, with awards given for both athletic performance and best costume design.

The tournament includes specific rules that reflect its unconventional nature. A free bar operates throughout the event, as the official regulations state that goals scored by sober players will be disallowed. This rule emphasizes the event's focus on entertainment and artistic expression rather than competitive sport.

The format combines athletics with performance art, challenging traditional concepts of football tournaments. Each edition takes place in locations chosen for their unusual characteristics, transforming industrial or urban spaces into temporary sporting venues.

The Naples edition demonstrated how temporary structures can repurpose existing infrastructure. The port's container storage area became a sports facility for several days, showing how industrial spaces can accommodate cultural events with minimal permanent modification to the existing environment.