Educational Project 2023/24: training course continues

FC Internazionale Milano has always aimed to educate boys and girls in its Youth Sector, not only from a technical and football perspective, but also on a human and cultural level. Training sessions on the pitch are integrated with the 'Educational' project, a programme of activities and educational initiatives on sensitive and important issues for the healthy development of young people.

During the 2023/24 season, starting with the Under-9s and continuing through to the Primavera, the Club organised a dedicated training course. This involved the participation of in-house professionals and the discussion of topics such as digital awareness and food education. The course also made use of internal and external consultants to address issues such as the protection of minors, bullying, the fight against all forms of discrimination, and environmental sustainability.

In collaboration with Nike, for example, our U15 teams trained weekly with youngsters from the Bebe Vio Academy, an inclusive project involving young people both with and without disabilities. It aims to promote sport for everyone and Paralympic disciplines.

Furthermore, Italian meteorologist Andrea Giuliacci was a guest at our sports centre. On four occasions, he talked to the youngest Nerazzurri players about environmental sustainability and climate change, notably explaining the importance of the sea and oceans for life on earth through the cartoon Meteo Heroes.

Meanwhile, experts from Associazione Valeria met with the U12s to talk about bullying and encourage good behaviour based on fairness and loyalty. Throughout the season, the Club continued to engage with the UEFA Outraged project, which saw the participation of every age category from the U13s upwards. This initiative aims to combat discrimination in football through the viewing of a dedicated documentary and, together with educators and psychologists, the analysis of the issues dealt with, namely racism, homophobia, discrimination against refugees, sexism, online abuse and disability.

In order to address some of these issues in greater depth, two workshops were organised for the players studying at Inter College. The first on disability, which was held in collaboration with the Department of Social Responsibility, involved valuable contributions from Dr. Marco Spinelli of the Maria Letizia Verga Committee, Paralympic skier Cristian Toninelli, and Daniele Cassioli, a visually impaired water skier with 28 world titles. The second workshop dealt with the issue of discrimination against refugees and was conducted in cooperation with UNHRC, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

For years now, the off-the-pitch educational programme of our Youth Sector has addressed the protection of minors and prevention of abuse in sport. The Club has worked together with CIPM (Department of public safety in Milano) to provide information and raise awareness for the benefit of families, teams and staff members.