Sport and Integration, winners awarded in 2016. Malagò: "Our goal is social inclusion"

For the second year running, the programme agreement for promoting integration policies through sport signed by CONI and the Italian Ministry of Labour and Social Policies has highlighted "best practices" in relation to integration through sport.

During the final meeting of 2016 for the "Sport and Integration" project (photo-Mezzelani GMT) at the Circolo del Tennis Foro Italico, successful positive experiences from this year's call to sporting associations were honoured, and Special Mentions were awarded to initiatives undertaken by National Sports Federations, Associated Sports Disciplines, Sports Promotion Bodies and Meritorious Associations. 239 integration through sport experiences, implemented throughout Italy, responded to the call.

The meeting was attended by Giovanni Malagò (President of CONI), Tatiana Esposito (General Manager of immigration and integration policies at the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies), Alberto Miglietta (Managing Director of Coni Servizi), Diana Bianchedi (member of the Project Scientific Committee) and Adele Menniti (Research Director at the Italian National Research Council). Giuliano Poletti, Minister of Labour and Social Policies, also gave a few words.

Giovanni Malagò, President of CONI, stressed the importance of the project within the activities developed by the Body: "I am pleased that the hard work on this project and this issue is going to be recognised by the world of sports associations. It is not easy to get Federations, representatives of the professional world, and promotional bodies around the same table, but we have a duty to create links with all sectors in the exclusive interest of sport and the public. CONI has a strong social presence, at the cost of allocating resources to projects far removed from our core business, and through this we are creating important allies in companies that want to invest in social responsibility. Successful Best Practices are a tradition which we are particularly proud of".

Giuliano Poletti, Minister of Labour and Social Policies: "The local response to the activities proposed by the Sport and Integration project illustrates how continuous and thorough work with associations, and cooperation between institutions, can have a real effect, encourage dialogue between various people, and promote integration into and between communities".

MD of Coni Servizi Alberto Miglietta commented on the "central role of sport in relation to integration. We have several projects with various Ministries and we are pleased to create links to enhance the importance of the movement for the benefit of the community".

As part of the programme agreement, a survey dedicated to the perception of integration and inclusion values was conducted in 2016 by the National Research Council with a sample of secondary schools, in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research. During this event the first results of the "Fratelli di Sport" survey were presented.

The world of education was also involved in an informative campaign which saw secondary school pupils consider integration issues and participate in a contest focused on the theme of "Integration: the best victory". During the meeting, pupils from two schools in Rome participating in the educational campaign spoke with Italian athletes from migrant backgrounds: Delmas Obou, sprinter, Italian national 100 m champion in 2013 and 2014, and Ivan Mach Di Palmstein, hurdler, who are both members of the Gruppo Sportivo Fiamme Gialle [sport section of the Italian police force]. Information regarding the programme agreement, the measures taken and in progress, and the "Sport and Integration Manifesto" is available at www.fratellidisport.it and www.integrazionemigranti.gov.it.

"Vincere da Grandi" Open Day in Corviale. Malagò: Thank you Lottomatica. We must invest in society

Today, President of CONI Giovanni Malagò and President and Managing Director of Lottomatica Holding Fabio Cairoli took part in the Vincere da Grandi Open Day in the Corviale district of Rome. This sporting, cultural and social project aims to raise awareness, and give young people from disadvantaged areas who are at risk of marginalisation the chance to discover and take part in a range of sporting disciplines.

The initiative, which is dedicated to profitable and synergistic action between the private and public sectors, was introduced in 2015 thanks to CONI's dedication and major funding from Lottomatica through the Il Gioco del Lotto brand. Today around 800 young people are involved across four cities: Rome (Parco del Foro Italico), Milan (Quarto Oggiaro), Naples (Scampia) and Palermo (former Zen).

The next two stages will involve Reggio Calabria (Rosarno) and Corviale in Rome, which, thanks to SSD Calciosociale, hosted an afternoon full of celebration and fun for a crowd of children in the Valentina Venanzi sports centre. Representatives of the companies participating in the project were present along with two special guests: Elisa Blanchi, World Champion rhythmic gymnast who won two Olympic medals with the Italian National team (silver in Athens in 2004 and bronze in London in 2012) and Alessandro Florenzi, footballer for AS Roma and the national team (photo credit: Mezzelani-GMT).

President Malagò opened with a welcome which highlighted the importance of Vincere da Grandi. "We have always believed in this project and I want to thank Lottomatica and everyone who has made it possible. Sport is enhanced in its most noble sense and experienced as an opportunity to grow, as training can free young people from their everyday problems. The initiative is a source of great pride and shows us that investing in the community is a winning idea. Thank you to all of you." The forward-thinking attention paid to the Corviale project by the CONI Regional Committee led by Riccardo Viola and Rome's representative Cristina Chiuso was also noted.

Fabio Cairoli emphasised the initiative's content, according to Lottomatica's point of view. "Today you are winners, you are ambition transformed into reality. This is a victory for us, for our company and for Gioco del Lotto, the brand associated with the initiative. Vincere da Grandi confirms our belief in the importance of collaboration between the public and private sectors in order to successfully implement projects which benefit the community. This is an extraordinary growth lever, which ensures social inclusion".

Leaders of various local projects then took the floor to speak about their own areas of expertise: President of SSD Calciosociale Massimo Vallati, who thanked CONI and Lottomatica and emphasised the importance of the project for social betterment of an entire district, Giovanni Maddaloni President of and teacher at the A.S.D. Star Judo Club in Scampia, Napoles, Rachid Berradi from ASD Atletica Berradi 091 in Palermo, and Sergio Frazzei from ASD Futura Milano Quarto Oggiaro, all highlighted the stages taken in the journey.

The closing talks from Elisa Blanchi and Alessandro Florenzi were met with applause from the children. Blanchi focused on the meaning of sport. "What was symbolic in my life, and plotted it indelibly, is the enthusiasm to pursue your goals while aspiring to the value of our movement". Florenzi said he was "proud to be part of this family, because I know Corviale and the work you are doing. You applauded me, but you should applaud your mums and dads who work to give you everything they can". The day came to an end with camera flashes, applause and dedications, and the future laid out before the participants, inspired with dreams of becoming champions, star players and winning gold medals.

National Committee press release. Financial contributions for Federations established for 2017

The 1054ª-bis meeting of the CONI National Committee was held at the Foro Italico this morning following on from the meeting in Naples on 22 November. Financial contributions for National Sports Federations was the sole point of discussion. The Committee first approved the criteria defined by the dedicated Committee, establishing the new funding for National Sports Federations in 2017 (see table) for sport, as well as contributions for Human Resources, office space and sports facilities. The resolution was passed by the majority with a vote against cast by Abete. At the same time, President Malagò announced that the Commission has fulfilled its duties and is therefore dissolved.

The Committee, acting on a proposal from the Meritorious Sports Commission, then allocated "motu proprio" the Collare d'Oro to Gianmarco Tamberi and the Palma d'Oro to cycling coach Edoardo Salvoldi. Both will be awarded on 19 December during the Cerimonia per i Collari held in the CONI Salone d'Onore at 11:30 in the presence of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi with guests of honour Gianluigi Buffon and Francesca Porcellato presenting the awards. After addressing a long list of other organisational and administrative issues, and having taken the relevant resolutions, the Committee called an end to proceedings at 10:35.

Renewal of protocol with the Ministry of Education, Universities and Research: 2 hours of sport in all primary schools. Malagò: "It is a big step"

Minister of Education, Universities and Research Stefania Giannini and President of the Italian National Olympic Committee Giovanni Malagò today signed the renewal of the memorandum of understanding between MIUR and CONI.
The three-year agreement (renewable on request of the parties), which was signed in the afternoon in MUIR's Sala della Comunicazione in the presence of Italian sporting champions and Olympic medal winners from Rio 2016 such as Elisa Di Francisca (fencing), Daniele Lupo (beach volleyball), Matteo Lodo and Giovanni Abagnale (rowing), promotes sports education in schools on a national level, encouraging the adoption of a healthy lifestyle to combat early school leaving and all forms of violence and bullying and enhancing the development of educating people about living within the law.

"The collaboration between CONI and MIUR began three years ago and we had a goal which became a project, Sport di Classe, to increase physical activity right from primary school", said the Minister. We are doing this not just to discover champions to win Olympic medals or step onto winners' podiums around the world, but to offer all the benefits that sports provides, in addition to health education, a healthy life style. These are key qualities. In these two and a half years we have achieved a lot and focused directly on a greater sports presence in Italian schools. We announced 1800 new positions for physical education teachers for middle and high schools and, with President Malagò, we started a project, and today this signed protocol for its implementation will allow us within two years to achieve our goal that all primary schools, educating children from 6 to 11 years old, will have at least two hours of physical activity on their timetables. It doesn't seem like a lot, but this small start means setting children on a path which for some will be to become a great talent and for others it will be to do some sport".

One of the Protocol's objectives is to support and implement play and movement in primary schools through the continuation of the national Sport di Classe project which started in the 2014-2015 academic year, partly thanks to the allocation of EUR 60 million provided by National Operational Programme funds 2014/2020.

A unique school sports portal will be activated for institutions, which will also be used for monitoring initiatives. MIUR and CONI will collaborate on developing tools to support top young athletes at secondary school and at University. Initiatives will also be launched for disseminating and communicating the educational values of sport. Alternative training courses in accordance with La Buona Scuola will be promoted, as part of the sports and events system and activities organised by CONI, at national and local level.
"7,000 primary schools have got involved, nearly half of all institutions, with 1.2 million pupils and 60,000 classes", continued Malagò. Thanks to the 60 million allocated from the next European Scheduling funds we are going to complete this project which will reach the rest in the next three years. In this country we must start realising that doing sport does not interfere with studying. Studying and work and studying and sport are two fundamental parts of life which must be combined. This signing is important and I am very happy that we managed to complete this part of the project within the year".

"When I became President of CONI", said Malagò, "there was no particular desire to look at sport in school, there was significant allocation of funds but it was necessary to stay on top of it day by day. It was an organisation which was focused on two things: school and social responsibility. Our goal was to make it possible for all primary classes to have the opportunity to do at least two or three hours of sport a week as quickly as we could. We have significantly increased the numbers – this year more than 40% of classes participated in Sport di Classe. Thank you to Simona Montevarchi Director of the National Operational Programme funds, who has made funds available to tackle the problems in the South, in particular in Campania and Sicily which are stars of the Italian sports system. I'm very happy, we are still far from the Anglo-American system but we are making huge strides. I am thinking of two great athletes: Federica Pellegrini and Pietro Mennea. Federica was discovered by the world of sports associations. Pietro, on the other hand, was discovered in school. But how many Menneas have we risked losing over the years and how many can we now find? We do not expect to replace physical education teachers with the concept of two hours in primary school, but today we feel that with the tutor dynamic we can at least compensate for the shortcomings that still exist. Increasing the amount of time adds even more value to the cultural aspect of sport".

He ended with: "'I have a dream' that in the next stage you can integrate this support we have given with the integration of physical education teachers. Thanks to the Ministry and thank you Stefania for your awareness, because until a few years ago this issue was not one of the country's priorities".

During the signing ceremony, presented by Andrea Lucchetta, two sets of equipment were presented: one to the Istituto Comprensivo Acquaroni Primary School in Rome (Tor Bella Monaca district), winner of the Sport di Classe values journey in 2015-2016, and one to the Dante Alighieri Secondary School in L'Aquila.

Naples hosts Committee meeting for the first time. Meeting statement

The 1054th meeting of the CONI National Committee was held in Naples for the first time, and took place in the Sala Italia at Castel dell'Ovo. The meeting was opened by Luigi de Magistris, Mayor of Naples (accompanied by councillor Ciro Borriello) who extended a welcome on behalf of the city and handed the flag of Naples over to President Malagò. Lucia Fortini, Councillor for Sport in the Campania region, then gave a few words. The formal part of the meeting came to an end and the Committee started proceedings by approving the minutes of the previous meeting of 3 November. In his statements, President Malagò (photo credit: Mezzelani-GMT) updated the Committee on recent legislation regarding sport, in particular the entry into force of the decree on defibrillators on 1 January 2017. Malagò also spoke about his participation in the European Olympic Committee meeting in Minsk and the World Olympic Committee meeting in Doha. The President then announced that under-17s footballer Francesco Pipoli from Foggia will receive the CONI Ciro Esposito study grant because "while he was on track to score, he stopped to allow a member of the opposing team who was lying injured on the ground to receive treatment".

Regarding the next Committee meeting, the new calendar leading up to the CONI elections was announced. The next Committee meeting will take place in Rome on 2 December (dedicated to allocating funds to National Sports Federations), while the first meeting of 2017 will be held in Genoa at the Palazzo della Regione Liguria on 17 January. Fulvio Bonavitacola, Vice-President of the Campania Region, then spoke on behalf of Governor De Luca. At the request of Romolo Rizzoli, President of the Italian Bowls Federation, Massimo Proto was appointed as acting Commissioner in order to amend the federal statute in view of the Federal Elective Assembly. After addressing a long list of other organisational and administrative issues, and having taken the relevant resolutions, the Committee called an end to proceedings at 13:15.

Presentation of the sustainability report Malagò: "CONI is an Italian certainty". Miglietta: "Important results"

The sustainable management model adopted by CONI and Coni Servizi is built on five pillars: transparent governance and reporting, stakeholder inclusion and involvement, commitment to top-level sport, enhancement of the social role of sport and emphasis on people. These are the cornerstones of the organisation's identity.

Malagò opened proceedings by speaking proudly about the project and the key points of the programme that led him to become the leader of CONI in 2013. "This is the third edition of the report. Year on year we are improving the presentation of information. The social report came about because CONI wants to stand up on so many topics, to give answers to our stakeholders: we asked for their ideas, as CONI we wanted to know what they want in order to invest in Italian sport. The Report was created in accordance with the latest and most stringent standards currently existing internationally in terms of sustainability reporting. Today, we are presenting a model known as GRI, a report in Italian which, in a few days, you will also be able to find on our website in English, because we also have investors abroad. It has undergone a limited scope review by KPMG, as we are a Public Body and we want to be transparent. When I present this report to my colleagues from other national Olympic committees, it seems that we are miles ahead. Even on the cover, this report emphasises that CONI is fully devoted to sport, partly thanks to numerous institutional and private partnerships. It undoubtedly supports National Sports Federations and Associate Sports Disciplines for sports and elite athletes and develops talent, but it also works to promote sport among children and young people, who are the future of sport and our country.  We are involved in social development through focusing on the community thanks to consolidated reasoning in suburban areas, activities in schools and engaging with the most disadvantaged. For instance there are projects in the pipeline for areas affected by the earthquake – through CONI Ragazzi – and projects aiming to provide sports facilities for reception centres housing young migrants. CONI is amongst the few certainties that our country has, and this is something to be proud of".

The CONI organisation's (CONI and Coni Servizi) added value as recorded in 2015 grew around EUR 11 million compared with 2014 to EUR 486,025,348, largely distributed to stakeholders and as support for the sports system in particular. Alberto Miglietta, MD of Coni Servizi, elaborated further on the details of the relationship between CONI and Coni Servizi, focused on good governance.  "Over the years, CONI and Coni Servizi have developed an excellent economic and financial management system, which has enabled the resources employed throughout the CONI organisation's processes to be developed and made more efficient and a constant reduction in the value of the service contract. Between 2003 and 2015 the service contract saw a downward trend, with savings of around 77 million (-43%), with Coni Servizi's revenues increased by + 712% and similar trend in the total operating revenues, rising from 2% to 23%. These results have led to greater efficiency and managerial autonomy, development of human resources, and at the same time made it possible to provide more resources to developing sporting bodies. These results have been achieved through the development of people, their professional advancement and our know-how. This document encourages us to continue on our path, and I thank Teresa Zompetti for the important work she has done with her team. All the activities developed have led us to become a centre of interest. The Olympic Committee has never before received requests to support projects by Ministries. At the beginning of the journey, the Ministries we had the most involvement with were the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health. In the last year we have worked with the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Foreign Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office. We are working with the same level of human resources. Being a public company we have major limitations when it comes to increasing our resources and in order to support the implementation of these projects we are managing to do it with the same human resources. It is nothing miraculous, it is merely a thought, a project to train our resources so that, by optimising their work, we manage to achieve much more in the same number of working hours than in the past. They are few in number but it was an opportunity to share this, which we believe sets a positive example to our nation". 

Today's presentation was also attended by Enrico Giovannini, former Minister of Labour and former president of Istat. "I like to imagine that this sustainability report is also proof that the world of sport has a duty to help our country win the sustainable development competition, one of the key principles of the UN's 2030 agenda. This document is written in a comprehensive and engaging way, and is a model for many other organisations. We have 169 targets and 17 goals: we ask CONI's champions to adopt a goal, a target, and help us in this campaign."

The sustainability report

Excerpt from the report

National Council Press Release

The 248th CONI National Council met today at 3 pm at the Foro Italico to discuss the following agenda:

1) Verbal approval of the meeting of 06 September 2016: The minutes were approved unanimously.

2) The President's statements: Malagò opened proceedings, awarding the Stelle d’Oro for sporting merit to newly elected Renato Di Napoli (President of FITET [Italian Table Tennis Federation]) and Francesco Ettorre (President of FIV [Italian Sailing Federation]) and to Ivo Ferriani (new member of the IOC), thanking, on behalf of the whole movement, Bruno Grandi, who announced he would not run again for President of the International Federation of Gymnastics, for the fruitful efforts made at national and international level. The final statement from Rio 2016 allowed the findings on the visibility of the Italian Team brand to be applauded, thanks to excellent collaboration with sponsors which made it possible to enhance social media activities through the launch of a new recognisable identity. Malagò then stated that, according to decisions made by the Committee, the Italian Paralympic Committee will become an autonomous and formally independent body as of next year.

He then spoke about the "Sport and Suburbs" plan. It is obviously necessary to assess the issue of the earthquake zone: Malagò spoke of visits to Amatrice, Accumoli and Arquata del Tronto, stressing that the projects in the pipeline were subject to change according to the changing scenario.

The main changes proposed to the Antidoping Regulations were then announced, which will enter into force on 1 January 2017, with a statement from NADO ITALY, national organisation and signatory of the WADA Code, which is autonomous from CONI. It was announced that the deadline for presenting the National Sports Federations 2017 budget will be extended to 31 January 2017, in addition to the new availability to be allocated to Federations (EUR 250,000 to winners of medals in Rio, EUR 175,000 to the two Winter Olympic Federations, 150,000 to Olympic Federations and 100,000 to non-Olympic Federations), thanks to additional amounts resulting from CONI's excellent management of resources and the outstanding results of its marketing activities.

Also participating on the report were: Ugo Claudio Matteoli, Luciano Rossi, Giuseppe Leoni, Riccardo Agabio, Siro Zanella, Angelo Binaghi, Romolo Rizzoli, Andrea Mancino, Gianni Medugno, Bruno Molea, Vincenzo Manco, Ugo Salines, Luigi Musacchia. Alberto De Nigro, Chairman of the Board of Auditors, was also present.

3) FSN-DSA-EPS activities: Resolutions relating to the Special Administration of the Italian Dance Sport Federation were passed unanimously, with Giovanni Costantino appointed Commissioner and Carlo Mornati and Alvio La Face appointed Vice-Commissioners. Resolutions relating to the application in 2016 of transitional provisions in the Regulations of Sports Promotion Bodies were also passed unanimously.   

5) Administrative affairs and CONI budget: The Committee then approved the 2nd remodelling of the 2016 Budget (with only one vote against cast by Siro Zanella, Squash), which assigned, among others, more resources to National Sports Federations based on results achieved in competitions throughout the year and prizes were allocated for winners of Paralympic medals in Rio. Following the Committee's approval, the Council approved the CONI budget for 2017 (with only one vote against cast by Siro Zanella, Squash), which shows a break-even financial result. Funds awarded by the State for 2017 are essentially in line with 2016 (411.6 million, including grants of 4.5 million for organising certain international sporting events in Italy). Compared to the previous year, the budget does not include project details and recurring features which are resource-intensive, as was the case in 2016 with the Rio games. Like for like, 2017 shows greater availability of resources, mainly allocated to the development of National Sports Federations sports programmes. Funds awarded to other funded bodies (Associate Sports Disciplines, Sports Promotion Bodies, Italian Armed Forces, Meritorious Associations, etc.) are in line with historical data, for the ordinary/recurring aspects, just as the value of the payment for the service contract with Coni Servizi SpA is in line with the value in the initial budget for 2016.

28–30 October: International Festival of Athletics Coaching in Formia

IFAC: this event has become a tradition. The International Festival of Athletics Coaching returns to Italy for the third consecutive year. On 28–30 October, the Olympic Training Centre in Formia will host three days of detailed insight and technical analysis with talks by world-class coaches providing a full debrief following the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and in the lead up to new, important international events.

Through the Sport and Olympic Preparation Area, in collaboration with the European Athletics, CONI presents a varied and detailed programme, which will open with an introductory speech by the Deputy Secretary General Carlo Mornati, as well as the Head of European Athletics Development, Marko Vasic and President of the EACA Frank Dick. There will be around 130 participants from 21 countries.

Speakers will include: Martin Buchheit, Head of Performance at Paris Saint-Germain FC, who will cover monitoring training loads; Giuseppe Banfi, Scientific Director of the San Donato Foundation and Milan's Galeazzi Orthopaedic Institute, who will explore the subject of intensive cryotherapy; and Brian Cunniffe, Senior Sports Scientist at the British Olympic Association-Team GB, who will take an in-depth look at integrating sciences and coaching. There will also be talks from Stefano Morini, FIN coach who has trained swimmers including Paltrinieri and Detti, who together with Marco Bonifazi will demonstrate the methods required to create a high performance environment and team; top pole vault coach Vitali Petrov and hurdles coach since 1974 Malcom Arnold will talk about their respective areas of expertise; and Daniel Giorgio di Mattia, President of AMS FMSI and Deputy Coordinator DCO/BCO FMSI, will speak about the new anti-doping guidelines and procedures. Proceedings will be coordinated by Elio Locatelli, technical consultant for CONI's Sport and Olympic Preparation Area, along with other event organisers.

Letter from the IOC President Thomas Bach to Giovanni Malagò

This is the text of the letter that the IOC President Thomas Bach sent to the CONI President Giovanni Malagò:

Dear President,

Dear friend Giovanni,

Thank you for your letter dated 11 October 2016.

The IOC has taken note of the withdrawal of the Candidature of Rome for the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, following the vote of the City Council. Based on the information we have received over the last few days, it has been clearly demonstrated that the City Council’s decision was politically motivated for reasons beyond the Olympic project.

The IOC is fully aware that this was a very difficult decision for CONI to take, enjoying support for the candidature from all other levels of Government and the people of Rome and Italy.

I would like to thank CONI and the Candidature Committee for their outstanding work which resulted in an excellent project for a sustainable, feasible and transparent candidature in the line with Olympic Agenda 2020. There is no doubt that this project would have left a positive and sustainable legacy for the City of Rome and the Lazio Region, to which the IOC would have contributed with an investment of about USD 1.7 billion.

May I also kindly ask you to convey the IOC’s thanks to the Government of Italy, the Regional Government and Regional Council of Lazio and all Italians, who have supported this candidature so much.

Please rest assured that the excellent relations between the IOC and CONI will not be affected by this decision. We will continue to work closely with CONI to promote and develop Olympic sport in Italy.

Wishing you and all the members of your teams in CONI and the Candidature Committee the very best for a successful future, I remain

With kind regards,

Thomas Bach

3rd Olympic Management course. Malagò: "A new model for Italy's sport of tomorrow"

The opening was hosted by Rossana Ciuffetti, Director of the School of Sport, and was attended by speakers and representatives from the Scientific Committee, chaired by Antonello Bernaschi who coordinates the educational project which is aimed at training future sports executives.

This year's course has kicked off with a larger number of female participants than in previous years, with 13 women taking part. Amongst the participants is rower Pierpaolo Frattini, who has competed in three Olympic games (Athens 2004, London 2012, Rio 2016) and eight world championships, winning one gold (pair event in 2011) and three silver medals (eights in 2005 and 2006, pairs in 2010).

The course, which aims to prepare young graduates for immediate entry into the workplace through the acquisition of expertise, interpersonal skills and teamwork, will cover 12 modules with compulsory attendance spanning a total of 360 hours of teaching. The students will sit an exam at the end of the course in March 2017 which, if they pass, will guarantee them at least 300 hours of paid internship.

Malagò opened the session by stressing the importance of the initiative: "We want a new model to drive Italy's sport of tomorrow in all areas. I had hoped to urge you today to support this training programme in view of the outcome of Rome's 2024 Olympic bid. But we all know what happened. Yesterday was a sad day for Italian sport. However, today we have launched a new initiative that will lead us in new directions. This morning, with the circulation of information regarding appropriations for developing sport in the suburbs, we resumed playing an active role so sport can have an impact in all circumstances".

"I believe you have made a good investment by taking part in this initiative" continued Malagò. "It makes more sense to follow this type of programme rather than one that does not provide any real opportunity."

Alberto Miglietta, Managing Director of CONI Servizi, congratulated the students on their choice and added: "To be able to make decisions, you must expand your knowledge. Before making a judgement, you need to understand what you're dealing with. I therefore urge you to be curious and never stop learning."

The start of the course was also attended by Marcello Marchioni and several representatives of the Course Scientific Committee: Alberto Acciari, Fabio Barchesi, Moris Gasparri and Valeria Panzironi. Classes will be led by CONI leaders, university professors and sporting professionals.