The Head of State, Sergio Mattarella, received at the Quirinale the Minister for Sport and Youth, Andrea Abodi and the President and CEO of Sport and Health, Vito Cozzoli, accompanied by the Legends, Manuela Di Centa and Jury Chechi.
During the meeting, the social sport plan of Sport e Salute SpA was presented to the President of the Republic, which envisages an investment of 16 million euros and the publication of tenders, which with the related projects aim to break down access barriers to sport and concretely implement the principle of the right to sport for all.
According to those present, the President of the Republic affirmed that “the contribution of sport is not collateral, but fundamental” and thanked “Minister Abodi and the President of Sport and Health Cozzoli for what they do day after day. It is truly a contribution to the country. Expanding sports practice is socially and economically important”. “The presence of the Minister for Sport and young people in the government – added Mattarella – facilitates a collaborative dialogue with the other Ministries”.
Abodi recalled that “the harmony between the protagonists of the world of sport is crucial for the whole sporting movement” and underlined that “the social projects of Sport and Health are important because sport can only start from the bottom up, which is the base that supports the top”. “Rather than winning – continued Minister Abodi -, sport must convince, in dialogue with everyone. An operational and efficient structure such as Sport and Health is also needed for this “.
On this occasion, the intervention model “Sport for all” was also illustrated to the President of the Republic with the announcements “Prisons”, “Neighborhoods and Suburbs”, “Inclusion”, “Parks”, launched last week, which will involve 1 million citizens, 20,000 prisoners including minors and 12,000 between ASD, SSD and Third Sector entities.
“More grassroots sports, more social sports, more school sports, more sports in the cities and in the suburbs. This is the meaning of the daily work of Sport and Health which is the basis of the social projects that we presented to the President of the Republic to guarantee sport as a right”, declared Vito Cozzoli, President and CEO of Sport and Health.
The Legends, Manuela Di Centa and Jury Chechi also attended. “Having sown as a child worked for me – declared the former cross-country skier -. It is from childhood that he takes on that passion which then never leaves us”. While Chechi admitted: “I’ve always played sports to win, but only now have I understood how important everyone’s sport is, that of practitioners”.