On Saturday 11 April, the Centro Tecnico Federale in Coverciano welcomed a delegation from ASD Balon Mundial Onlus. The association is dedicated to the promotion of football as a tool for the social inclusion of women, girls and non-binary people from vulnerable communities. This visit coincided with the presence of the Azzurre as they are preparing for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
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The visit is part of the project ‘We Rise Up Legacy for the Future’, for which Balon Mundial is the winning organisation in Italy. On the occasion of EURO 2025, the UEFA Foundation for Children launched a project aimed at European non profit organisations committed to gender equality and the protection of children, with the goal of identifying one national project for each of the teams taking part in the competition. The selection of the winning project was entrusted to the Azzurre, who chose Balon Mundial and the project ‘We Rise Up Legacy for the Future;, also supported by the Adidas Foundation. Each winning organisation received funding provided directly by the UEFA Foundation for Children. The initiative aims to harness the power of football to inspire, support and empower girls, building a legacy that goes beyond the pitch and lasts well beyond the ninety minutes of competition.
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THE DAY AT COVERCIANO. Active for over ten years in Turin, Balon Mundial uses football as an educational, social and intercultural tool, with a particular focus on people with migrant and second generation backgrounds. For the association’s ‘team’, the pitch becomes a place for expression and identity building, where the ball turns into a concrete tool aimed at enhancing empowerment and participation. These themes shaped the meeting held in Coverciano, which began with the opportunity to closely watch the Azzurre’s training session and continued with a tour of the Football Museum and the Federal Technical Centre. The most anticipated moment, however, was the direct discussion with some of the players and head coach Andrea Soncin, during which the girls in the delegation had the chance to speak with their idols, sharing emotions and drawing inspiration for their sporting and personal journeys.

 

A particularly meaningful moment was the signing of the Azzurre shirt by Girelli and her teammates, who in turn received the Queens kit as a gift, the Balon Mundial representative team visiting Coverciano: an exchange between different worlds, united by the same values. For the participants, who grew up in contexts where access to sport is not guaranteed, seeing top level athletes up close who share their same passion was a powerful message: in football, there is room for everyone.

 

Beatrice Serasso, the Balon Mundial Project Manager, spoke about the day; “Being here is a unique opportunity. This day is the conclusion of a project that has been going on for a year and I would like to thank the FIGC, the Adidas Foundation and the UEFA Foundation for Children. For our girls it was a moment of joy and fun in which they were able to experience first hand a reality they usually only follow on screens”.

 

Elena Linari added; “We’re really happy to have been here with these amazing girls, who have shared some unique values with us. We had the chance to meet them and we hope to see them again soon. We want to wish the whole Balon Mundial team all the best wishes and luck in the future”.