Play Sport Camp 2025: building community through sport in Messina

The fourth edition of the Play Sport Camp was an outstanding success, fully achieving the objectives set out by the charitable initiative promoted by FC Internazionale Milano and the Centro Sportivo Italiano. It was held in Messina thanks to the collaboration of the local CSI Committee and the invaluable support of local associations and social organisations.

For a week, the Polo Sportivo Educativo Giovanni XXIII (Giovanni XXIII Sports and Education Centre) was transformed into a true laboratory of inclusion, education and sport, offering over 250 children and young people a free experience of real human value. Among them were minors in situations of social vulnerability, young people living in care communities, children with disabilities and foreign minors. They were all involved thanks to the extensive network coordinated by the CSI Messina Committee in collaboration with local organisations, cooperatives and community services.

The aim of the camp was clear: to make sport accessible to everyone and turn it into a genuine opportunity for growth, learning and togetherness. Through training sessions led by coaches from Inter’s Youth Sector, fun sporting activities, educational workshops and peer-to-peer exchanges, participants were able to experience the true values of sport: respect, cooperation, fair play and inclusion.

Each day provided an opportunity to learn and share: there was plenty of time to play, but also to reflect on rules, relationships and trust. More than 20 educators, coaches and volunteers supported the youngsters throughout the experience, helping to create an atmosphere of warmth and inclusion.

The Play Sport Camp also served as a training workshop for adults: a technical clinic led by Nerazzurri coaches involved a total of 24 local instructors, coaches and operators, providing methodological tools and opportunities for professional development. It was an important step in strengthening the educational expertise of the local area, with a forward-looking focus on sport’s role as a social catalyst.

The involvement of families, especially during the final moments of the week, gave the initiative additional strength, turning the camp into a lively and open space for building connections. The project brought together a broad and diverse network, including: eleven local sports clubs; young people with disabilities from the inclusive workshops “Sogni in Blu” run by the Audacia Social Cooperative and the Ninni Lab of the Ninni Lab Onlus Association; minors supported by the Home Educational Service of the Azienda Speciale Messina Social City, the body managing the city’s social services; foreign minors of various nationalities welcomed by the Liberty Social Cooperative; young people from the residential communities “La Coperta di Linus” (Social Action) and “Arzilla” (Arzilla Social Cooperative); and youths involved in the “Arianna. Out of the Maze” project, aimed at young people undergoing probation within the juvenile justice system.

Once again this year, the Play Sport Camp demonstrated how sport can build meaningful relationships, activate effective educational pathways and foster community. It stands as a shining example of how collaboration between professional sport, the third sector and institutions can make a real difference, giving space and a voice to those who are often left on the margins.

The CSI, together with Inter and all the organisations involved, is already looking ahead, with the aim of replicating, expanding and strengthening the project. So that every young person can find in sport a passion, a home, a way forward and an opportunity to thrive.