Inter receives ECA Youth Football Award for Educational Project

Important international recognition for Inter: during the ECA Assembly in Istanbul, Corporate CEO Alessandro Antonello accepted the ECA Youth Football Award, the award given by the Association of European Clubs that is given to clubs that have shown exemplary commitment to the development of their Youth Sector.

An award that highlights the excellence of the Club's Educational Project, the programme launched by Inter in 2017, strongly supported by Youth Sector Director Roberto Samaden and pushed, season after season, by CEO Sport Giuseppe Marotta. A project that aims to educate the boys and girls of the Nerazzurri's youth academy not only from a technical and footballing point of view but also from a human and cultural one, also involving in the process all the coaches and people who work closely with our youngsters on a daily basis.

Starting from the Under 9 and up to the Primavera squad, Inter runs specific courses on sensitive topics, taking into account age as well as social and cultural context. With the help of professionals from the Inter staff and external experts, topics such as the protection of minors, bullying, cyberbullying and discrimination are addressed. Face-to-face meetings, discussions and panels are added to the participation in events aimed at raising awareness for these topics. One stand-out example: the Youth Sector's activities during Holocaust Remembrance Day, with visits, meetings and moments of reflection on the Holocaust.

All the men's and women's competitive teams, from Under 14s to Under 19s, are also involved in a training course on digital awareness, the correct use of social networks, and different communication channels, led by the professionals of Inter Media House and Team Communications. This is in addition to the active engagement with the social issues of the area, such as visits to Milan's paediatric hospitals or juvenile detention institutions. It is about understanding and facing everyday problems off the pitch: the Nerazzurri's mission is to bring attention to problems such as sustainability and climate change, a correct diet and sporting corruption (doping, match-fixing), for boys and girls, but also for everyone involved in the club like staff.

As part of the Educational Project, the Club opened the Suning Youth Centre and the Inter College, a facility that hosts players (from U15s to U19s) from other regions of Italy or abroad. It is an environment that offers an all-round educational and a training pathway, together with dedicated facilities such as study rooms, relaxation rooms and a general atmosphere that stimulates and facilitates integration and cohesion.

Combining technical aspects with this type of training is the great challenge of Inter's Educational Project: a mission for the Club, recognised by the ECA's prestigious award, which has praised such an important project, and will carry on with even more drive and enthusiasm.