‘Sporting Libertà’ is born, football as an alternative to punishment for minors in difficulty

The young people, led by the federal coach Cristian Simina, will have to respect strict rules, under penalty of immediate suspension of the match: no swearing, no protests or insults, no violent behavior

ROME – Football as an alternative measure to punishment. This is the objective of the newly formed ‘Sporting Libertà’, the five-a-side football team made up of minors who have committed crimes or are being treated in therapeutic psychiatric rehabilitation communities. The team made its debut in the Super League C5 tournament at the Stella Azzurra sports center. The ‘Sport in freedom’ project is financed within the Sport di tutti – Prisons of Sport and Health tender and the Department for Sport and was promoted by the Ecos association (European Culture and Sport Organisation).

“Some of the kids – explained Valerio Di Tommaso, president of Ecos– are subjected to probation, a tool to avoid a criminal conviction. Others live in therapeutic communities. < strong>Everyone participates in this project to demonstrate that even through sport you can recover a social and relational life. Furthermore, if the entire project of which this experiment is part is successful, the kids will not go to judgment and they will have a clean record”.

The young people, led by the federal coach Cristian Simina, will have to respect strict rules, under penalty of immediate suspension of the match: no swearing, no protests or insults, no violent behavior. “Our goal – said Simina – is to win the tournament even if we lost the first match. But it is even more important to win the competition’s fair-play award. It is necessary to continue to talk about the growing disadvantage of young people and projects of this type are fundamental to prevent young people from ending up in juvenile prisons”.

Santo Rullo, a psychiatrist and member of the Ecos scientific committee and founder of Crazy for Football, the national five-a-side football team for kids with mental health problems, also participates in the project. “This project – underlined Rullo – represents concrete hope for many young people.Football is not just a sport, but a powerful tool for social inclusion and rehabilitation. Through team play, kids learn fundamental values such as respect, discipline and solidarity, which are essential for their reintegration into society”.