Women's football is an increasingly established and important phenomenon all over the world, and in Italy too it is a sporting trend that continues to grow, but with wide margins for further development that can be reached above all by overcoming certain prejudices that are still widespread. Starting from these considerations, Gillette, the leading brand in shaving and always close to the world of sport and men, whether they are team Bomber shaved, or team King with a beard, takes the field together with the FIGC, Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio, to support women's football, through the project "Passion for football makes no distinctions".

The agreement between Gillette and the FIGC, based on common values and passions, was signed today in Rome, in the presence of Federation President Gabriele Gravina and P&G Italia CEO Paolo Grue.

"Gillette has always been close to the world of men and sport. Placing this well-known brand alongside our national women's football team, supporting educational activities for students and adults to combat stereotypes and prejudices towards young girls, coherently expresses the values of diversity and inclusion supported by the entire P&G Group" explains Paolo Grue, President and CEO of Procter & Gamble in Italy. "Thanks to its popularity and relevance for millions of people, with Gillette we have chosen to support the Women's World Cup, siding with women to send a message of the fight against gender stereotypes and to support the full freedom of choice for everyone of the sport they want to play".

"The promotion of women's football in Italy, especially among younger players, represents a challenge from a sporting point of view," says Gabriele Gravina, President of the FIGC, "but also and above all from a cultural point of view. We are happy that a global brand like Gillette has decided to contribute to the journey undertaken by the FIGC by supporting the national team, which represents the pinnacle of the movement, and directly involving families in this exciting and innovative project. Italian women's football is growing in numbers and in the recognition of certain rights, but the real objective of the Federation is to definitively break down the prejudices that still hinder its complete diffusion in all areas of our country'.

The project 'Passion for football does not make distinctions' will kick off with a series of initiatives, on social media and on the playing fields, with the aim of generating a positive cultural impact in the perception of women's football and concretely supporting the base of the Italian movement. Involved in the project are Azzurre Lisa Boattin, Barbara Bonansea, Valentina Giacinti, Laura Giuliani, Manuela Giugliano, Elena Linari, Gillette Ambassadors Bobo Vieri and Alessandro Cattelan, together with Cristiana Capotondi, godmother and supporter of the project.

In an important year for women's football, during which the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup is scheduled to take place in New Zealand in July, the "Passion for football makes no distinctions" project is aimed at football fans and players, their families and especially dads, whether they are Bomber or King. It will start in May with the social campaign #tifapertuafiglia, in which Gillette and the players of the National Women's team will challenge all dads in Italy to make a video in which they play football with their daughter, in order to win a trip to New Zealand and attend a match of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023. At the beginning of July, the project will be protagonist, through further activities, on the occasion of the Azzurre's last friendly match before the World Cup.

Even after the World Cup, Gillette will give new life to the project through initiatives with a great impact on the nation, to tell the world of football to girls and their families. In fact, from 23 September, on the occasion of the European Week of Sport, together with the FIGC Youth and Scholastic Sector, Gillette will kick off the "Play Days", events held in all Italian regions involving more than 2000 girls from primary and secondary schools that have joined the projects of the FIGC Youth and Scholastic Sector. The events, which are aimed at fostering the relationship between girls, families and local clubs, will take place inside the football schools with recreational-sports activities such as game-play on small pitches and ball challenges.

"I want to pay my compliments to Gillette, a men's brand, for choosing to be at the side of women and the Italian national football team. Many female athletes have been accompanied in this sport by their brothers, fathers or grandfathers, and it is nice to pay homage to this family history of passion and complicity for what for me is the most beautiful sport in the world,' added Cristiana Capotondi, godmother and supporter of the initiative.

Data on women's football. All over the world, women's football is an increasingly established phenomenon. According to data from a Gillette research conducted together with the Institute of Social and Marketing Research Eumetra, as part of the project, in Italy today 1 in 12 women play football*, a figure that decreases when it comes to girls: 1 in 20* of the sample surveyed plays this discipline. Moreover, 50% of the parents believe that football is not suitable for girls, identifying one of the reasons for this consideration as the fact that it is a contact sport.

*The research commissioned by Gillette and conducted by the Institute of Social and Marketing Research Eumetra was carried out considering a sample of 1,000 people (50% women and 50% men) over the age of 18.