“A champion for a friend”: Panatta, Lucchetta, Graziani and Castrogiovanni let children play to promote sport – Sport

Adriano Panatta, Andrea Lucchetta, Francesco Ciccio Graziani e Martin Castrogiovanni. Four myths of sport at the service of others. Who came together thanks to “Banca Generali – A Champion for a Friend”, the event that for 23 years has brought thousands of children from primary and lower secondary schools to Italian squares, curious to meet and play together with great former athletes.

According to the “Sport Report 2023”, in our country sports facilities are lacking and inadequate and this affects people’s choice not to practice sports on a regular basis. Looking then at school buildings, the numbers become alarming: 6 out of 10 schools do not have a gym or in any case a place equipped to carry out physical activities. This denies young people an important opportunity for personal growth, increasing the propensity to be sedentary and isolated (Source: Istituto per il Credito Sportivo; Sport and Health, 2023). Banca Generali – A Champion for a Friend has the objective of setting up real open-air gyms in the most evocative squares of our country, allowing young students to experience a morning of sport, fun and sharing, promoting the motor activity as a founding element of sociality and healthy growth.

Starting from Wednesday 10 April, over 10 thousand children from all over Italy will be able to play tennis, rugby, football and volleyball, competing against true champions of sport and life. The tour will start from Arezzo and will wind its way, stopping only in the summer months, along the entire peninsula. “We have reached the 23rd edition of Un Campione per Amico, thirteen alongside Banca Generali, but it is always a great emotion to cross Italy from North to South, meet thousands of children, play with them and see how they all have fun together coloring the most beautiful Italian squares with their smiles – he says Adriano Panatta –. Our goal is precisely this: to encourage, through play, sharing, inclusion, hospitality, respect, all founding values ​​of sport but above all of life. This event works because it is participatory: we play with each child, we talk with their teachers, with their parents, we want to give everyone a carefree morning.”

Per Gian Maria Mossa, CEO of Banca Generali, “this is an extraordinary event not only for the enthusiasm and energy it releases, but also and above all for the spirit and values ​​which it represents. The example of these champions and of this tour goes beyond the confines of sport, best expressing the desire to be together, team up and stay close to the area, elements that have always distinguished our work alongside families to accompany them in challenges related to savings”.

The 2024 edition of “Banca Generali – Un Campione per Amico” will touch six cities between April, May and June, Arezzo (10 April); Ravenna (23 April); Padua (8 May); Lucca (21 May); Trento (28 May) and Nocera Inferiore (4 June) and then resume after the summer break starting from September. The format remains unchanged: four courts (small in size) will be set up for tennis, volleyball, football and rugby, there will be entertainment, music and gadgets. Children will participate without any distinction of ability, thanks to the involvement of local associations selected in collaboration with the Italian Paralympic Committee. The patronage of CONI is also confirmed this year.