Collecchio, 28 March 2024 – It was a special morning for a group of 20 boys, aged between 15 and 17 years old. They are not just any group, but foreign minors in Italy, who had arrived here without their families, welcomed and taken in by Parma organisation. It is a project with sporting purposes, born thanks to the ASP (Azienda Servizi alla Persona), who gave the chance to these young people to visit the Mutti Training Center in Collecchio and get to know head coach, Fabio Pecchia, and midfielder, Drissa Camara.

Not even the rain stopped their desire to attend the Men's first team’s training session at the training ground. There was great enthusiasm and adrenaline among the boys, who at the end of the session were accompanied to the Mutti Training Centre’ press room to wait for the team representatives.

“Support for refugees is one of the policies of the social responsibility strategy for the Italian Football Federation. The aim is to help refugees and asylum seekers stay physically and mentally healthy and become part of the host community, through football. Football, according to the indications of the FIGC, needs to be a leader, in the near future, in the protection and inclusion of refugees through sport. This project with the ASP offers the opportunity for our Club to start to put into practice, with the possibility of further development,' commented Giuseppe Squarcia, who covers the role of FSR, Football Social Responsibility.

With this initiative, Parma Calcio is part of a project promoted by ASP, with football becoming a vehicle to welcome and include these minors and foreign children, in Italy without their families, who come from Tunisia, Cameroon and Burkina Faso. Now, they reside in Casa Baloo in Porporano and in the l'Alveare community in Parma. Parma Calcio wanted to give them, in addition to this experience, an official PUMA kit and an invitation to the match between Parma and Catanzaro on Monday 1 April, where the group of refugees will be guests in the stands at the Tardini. In addition to our Club, the ASP is also collaborating with the Municipality of Parma, with the Ciac O.N.L.U.S. association, A.S.D. LA PAZ, A.S.D. San Leo, the Building Services Centre, the Volunteer Services Centre, the community of Sant'Egidio, the Aquila Longhi club and the parish of Porporano, who all contribute to working in a shared vision for the future of these children.