As the world marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Divisione Calcio Femminile (Women’s Football Division) can confirm that it will join the Lega Nazionale Dilettanti (National Amateur League) in holding a minute’s silence across Serie A, Serie B and the Primavera division. In the league fixtures organised by the Divisione, the action will be temporarily halted in the 21st minute to recall the number of the Milan station platform from which the first trains carrying Jews and all other persecuted persons departed for extermination camps.

As stated today by Federal President Gabriele Gravina, the world of football works daily to promote the values of respect, brotherhood and inclusion, and it will continue to cultivate memory so that the horror of discrimination and antisemitism no longer has a place in our society. This was reiterated by Ludovica Mantovani, the president of the Women’s Football Division: “On the day when the horror of the Nazi genocide was revealed to the world, it is essential to stop and reflect. We are aware of the responsibility that comes with the popularity of our sport, and we must therefore team up to achieve an important goal: setting an example with our behaviour on the field, in the stands and beyond.”

In the 21st minute, the players will pause to honour the victims of the Holocaust and, at the same time, the following message will be broadcast in all stadiums:

#InDifesaDellaMemoria Perché ci fermiamo al 21’? Dal Binario 21 della stazione di Milano partirono venti convogli deportando gli ebrei e tutti i perseguitati verso i campi di sterminio. Furono in tanti a partire, pochissimi a tornare.

#InDefenseOfMemory. Why are we stopping in the 21st minute? Twenty convoys departed from Platform 21 at Milan station, deporting Jews and all other persecuted persons to extermination camps. Many left, but very few returned.

Il Binario 21 è il luogo in cui ebbe inizio l’orrore della Shoah tra il 1943 e il 1945: la Divisione Calcio Femminile ricorda le vittime innocenti sui campi di calcio, luogo invece di gioia e divertimento, affinché le giovani generazioni sappiano, capiscano e comprendano.

Platform 21 is the place where the horror of the Holocaust began between 1943 and 1945. Today, here on the football pitch, a place of joy and fun, the Divisione Calcio Femminile remembers the innocent victims so that the younger generations will know and fully understand.

#InDifesaDellaMemoria perché “quelli che non ricordano il passato sono condannati a ripeterlo”: questa è la frase incisa in trenta lingue sul monumento nel campo di concentramento di Dachau, per non dimenticare mai

#InDefenseOfMemory because “those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it": this is the quote engraved in 30 languages at the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site so that we never forget.