Initiative in Uganda to foster values of sport and inclusion

Sampdoria and Italian association ACAV, which has operated in Africa since 1985, joined forces with the Ugandan football association and the country’s Olympic committee to organise a three-day football school for young people in the country. More than 140 children aged between 13 and 16, including Ugandans from local communities as well as refugees, participated in the event, which sought to promote the values of football and inclusion.

The football school comprised management and sports education lessons, as well as training sessions and a tournament involving the kids in the West Nile region, which is found in the north west of Uganda and hosts the majority of refugees from South Sudan and the Congo. The initiative was thought up by Italian ambassador Domenico Fornara and put together with the help of the Blucerchiati, who sent two professional coaches – Marco Bracco and Roberto Morosini – along to the event. The duo previously offered their expertise at the Mandela National Stadium in Kampala, as part of the Samp Camp Around The World programme.

The medium and long-term aims of the project are to bolster education efforts aimed at young people, which foster Olympic values and training and extend beyond the football field to other sports, as well as to organise coaching and sports management courses. The initiative will also involve the construction of new infrastructure, in particular multi-purpose pitches. These measures will be enacted to benefit refugee populations and the local communities, in a spirit of integration and inclusion.