The Milanese association YouSport presented the pilot project “Azzurrini” a few weeks ago at the Teatro Ciro Menotti.
The initiative, which will start soon in the capital city of Milan, aims to promote the social inclusion of children with cognitive disabilities and on the autism spectrum through football and the adoption of new technologies.
YouSport YouSport is an amateur sports association founded in 2020.
Its aim is to promote processes of reception and social inclusion through sporting activities, aimed at improving mental, physical and educational conditions, social security and harmony between people of different origins and/or social conditions and/or psychophysical states.
Integrating, including, uniting different people and getting them used to taking care of each other are the priorities in YouSport’s mission.
Actions capable of positively influencing the economy and society in the coming years.
A welcoming process is a process of growth of the person that benefits the community that is welcomed and the community that welcomes, therefore the entire community.
For this reason it requires sustainability, professionalism, planning because the need cannot be supported only in the short term.
In the first 2 years of activity, YouSport has created 7 multi-ethnic football teams, involving, every year, 140 young adults, of which two thirds are foreigners and at least 50 women.
In addition to 50 minors from 4 primary and secondary schools. Over time, there have been several collaborations with approximately 10 non-profit organizations and various public bodies.
The activities, all free, are now made possible by a staff
of 10 people (including coaches, athletic trainers, sports psychologists and nutrition experts), for a total of approximately 600 hours of activity per year on the field and an operational structure made up of 4 people for a total of approximately 3000 hours per year.
The event was opened by YouSport president Claudio Ceriani and Samuele Robbioni, sports and clinical psychopedagogue and member of the YouSport Scientific Committee.
Together they introduced the Milanese amateur sports association, whose mission is to create a model of sports center based on the inclusion of categories today considered different or fragile.
A community of champions of change that excludes no one.
Over 500 people took part in the afternoon dedicated to sport, music and solidarity.
Then, world champions Gianluca Zambrotta and Giuseppe Bergomi took to the stage.
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world champions Gianluca Zambrotta and Giuseppe Bergomi will also be at the solidarity afternoon organized on Saturday 11 March at the Teatro Menotti (via Ciro Menotti 11, from 3 pm, suggested donations 10/25 euros). The occasion is the presentation of the “Azzurrini” project by the Milanese association YouSport, a social inclusion initiative that aims to bring children with cognitive disabilities and on the autism spectrum closer to sport.
“Music makes exceptional what fate wanted weak”: with the two footballers and the journalist-moderator Anna Billò, on stage starting at 3 pm there will also be the Allegro Moderato symphony orchestra, a social cooperative that addresses people with fragility, promoting a musical education capable of developing emotional and relational energies and skills.
The “Azzurrini” project – even if the color of their jerseys is orange – was born from the meeting between two entities: the YouSport associations and the Azzurrini Academy of Como, created to promote sports activities among children with cognitive disabilities thanks to the help of new technologies such as mind robots, 3D videos, augmented reality and drone shots. After all, the benefits that physical activity can bring to people with disabilities, both physical and mental, are no mystery. This was also confirmed by research conducted by Istat in 2019: sport contributes to the development of social relationships with a positive rehabilitative effect on health. Yet not even 10 percent of people with disabilities in Italy practice sports, compared to almost 40 percent of the rest of the population.
This is precisely the meaning of the new YouSport project: taking to the field to overcome the idea of diversity as a barrier. From here comes the idea of an inclusive football practice, which aims to contribute to the improvement of the psycho-physical conditions of the kids, strengthening their awareness, self-esteem, health conditions and promoting the construction of a group identity.
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The project “Gli Azzurrini di Yousport” was born following the meeting between YouSport and Azzurrini Academy, which operates in Como and its province and follows children with various cognitive disabilities, including those on the autism spectrum, and introduces them to sports activities through an innovative method and the use of new technologies. Today the Academy follows various groups of kids, collaborating with local neuropsychiatric centers and relying on local sports centers.
MILAN – An afternoon dedicated to sports, music and solidarity: great public success, with the participation of over 500 people, for the presentation of the project “Azzurrini di YouSport”, which took place on Saturday 11 March at the Teatro Ciro Menotti in Milan. The initiative that will start soon in the capital city of Milan, aims to promote the social inclusion of children with cognitive disabilities and on the autism spectrum through football and the adoption of new technologies.
Opening the event were YouSport president Claudio Ceriani and Samuele Robbioni, sports and clinical psychopedagogist and member of the YouSport Scientific Committee, who introduced the Milanese amateur sports association, whose mission is to create a model of sports center based on the inclusion of categories today considered different or fragile. A community of champions of change that excludes no one.
Then, world champions Gianluca Zambrotta and Giuseppe Bergomi took to the stage. In dialogue with journalist Anna Billò they illustrated to the public the birth, the characteristics of the “Azzurrini” project. There were also moments of leisure and fun with the telling of unpublished anecdotes about their career.
To conclude the afternoon, the “Allegro Moderato” orchestra performed a concert of symphonic classical music, with a selection of pieces including Peer Gynt by E. Grieg, La Gazza ladra by Rossini and the Ode to Joy by Beethoven. The orchestra, composed of musicians with mental and physical disabilities and professional musicians, brought an emotional and evocative performance to the Menotti Theater, acting as a “soundtrack” to this event, capable of uniting music, sport and solidarity.
“Telling YouSport in front of an audience of 500 people was simply a blow to the heart – explains Claudio Ceriani – Before the event, the tension was sky-high like at every match before the kick-off, but once we “got on the field” it transformed into emotion and enthusiasm, and made us understand how special and appreciated what we do is. This encourages us to do our best every day to break down every barrier. A special thanks goes to Anna Billò, Gianluca Zambrotta and Beppe Bergomi who accompanied us in the presentation of this project, as true champions as they are! A special round of applause also goes to the Allegro Moderato orchestra, which gave us a unique and engaging moment”
The “Azzurrini di YouSport” project was born from the meeting of two entities: the Milanese association YouSport, whose mission is to create a model of sports center based on the inclusion of categories today considered different or fragile, and the Azzurrini Academy of Como, created to promote sports activity among children with cognitive disabilities thanks to the help of new technologies. Such as mind robots, used to develop and strengthen the computational sphere; 3D videos and drone shots, to simplify the schemes proposed by the coach; augmented reality to teach how to recognize and manage emotions before they take over. This cutting-edge method, thanks to the “Azzurrini” project, will now also be exported to the city of Milan, where the YouSport association operates, combining the strategy and territorial experience of the Milanese association, with the innovative model of the Academy.
The benefit that physical activity can bring to people with disabilities was also confirmed by research conducted by ISTAT in 2019: physical activity and sport contribute to the development of social relationships with a positive rehabilitative effect on health. Yet only 9.1% of people with disabilities in Italy practice sports, compared to 36.6% of the rest of the population. Although the importance of sport is now widely recognized, much still needs to be done to increase the share of people with limitations who dedicate themselves to this activity. This is precisely the direction of the new YouSport project: taking to the field to overcome the idea of diversity as a barrier. This is where the idea of an inclusive football practice was born, which aims to contribute to the improvement of the psycho-physical conditions of children, strengthening their awareness, self-esteem, health conditions and promoting the construction of a group identity.