A wonderful, continuing tradition. The Azzurri, who have just arrived in Rome ahead of Italy vs. Belgium, paid a visit to the Bambino Gesù Paediatric Hospital to meet young patients being treated there, put a smile on their faces and give some comforting words to their families at a difficult time. FIGC President Gabriele Gravina, General Secretary Marco Brunelli, National Team Delegation Head Gigi Buffon, Head Coach Luciano Spalletti, as well as National Team players Gianluigi Donnarumma, Riccardo Calafiori and Giacomo Raspadori, made themselves available for an hour and a half of photos, autographs and, in the case of Gigio Donnarumma, a series of penalties taken by the children in the mini goal located in the playhouse. Many young footballers thus had the opportunity to step up and face the goalkeeper of the National Team.

The Azzurri delegation was welcomed by Bambino Gesù Paediatric Hospital President Tiziano Onesti, General Director Antonio Perno, Medical Director Massimiliano Raponi, Communications and Fundraising Manager Alessandra Delli Poggi, as well as Niccolò Contucci, the General Secretary of the Bambino Gesù Foundation.

“It’s always an emotional experience to visit the young patients; they give us strength and not the other way round,” said Gravina. In the FIGC’s path of social sustainability, our collaboration with Bambino Gesù represents a reference point of great value. Through experiences like this one, the Azzurri become stronger.” “For our children and youngsters, it always brings great joy to meet their heroes from the National Team, and it certainly helps them face challenging days in hospital with even more courage,” added Onesti. “We’re grateful to the FIGC for this opportunity, which is almost becoming a tradition, and for their support in numerous projects that are very important for the care and admission activities at Bambino Gesù.”

“A winning team has the courage to face every challenge,” was the message the children wanted to write on a drawing depicting a football pitch with players in the Azzurri shirt. And the National Team, as is the case before every match in Rome, is once again joining forces with the young patients to create a truly winning team.

Gravina, Brunelli, Spalletti and Calafiori visited the Nephrology ward, while Buffon and Raspadori walked the corridors of the Cardiology ward. The former world champion goalkeeper put on gloves, a mask, a hair cap and gown to visit a young patient who’d just had a transplant. Donnarumma, meanwhile, toured the rooms of the General Paediatrics ward, handing out a bag of FIGC gadgets to every patient.

The National Team thus ‘reciprocated’ the visit of seven young patients from the Bambino Gesù Paediatric Hospital who suffer from neuromotor disabilities with functional impairment of the upper and/or lower limbs. They were present at Coverciano two days ago as the Azzurri held a training session.

FIGC-OPBG COLLABORATION. The collaboration between the OPBG and the FIGC, which began in 2015, was recently renewed with a Memorandum of Understanding signed by FIGC President Gabriele Gravina and Bambino Gesù Paediatric Hospital President Tiziano Onesti, which extends a series of joint initiatives until 2027. In these nine years, there have been several visits to Coverciano by patients from the OPBG, as well as by the Azzurri to the hospital: first by coach Conte, then by the entire squad with coach Mancini in 2019 and 2021 before the games against Greece and Switzerland, and finally by a delegation with coach Spalletti before the game against North Macedonia in 2023.