PERUGIA (ITALPRESS) – “The sports equipment needs to be renewed systematically, starting from the stadiums. It is no longer possible that a nation like Italy still has obsolete and little welcoming structures. We need stadiums accessible to everyone, smart from a technological point of view, safe, energy-educated. And, thanks to the extraordinary Commissioner appointed by the Government, it will be done.” This is said by the Minister for Sport and Youth Andrea Abodi answering one of the questions of a long interview to the director of the Corriere Group, Sergio Casagrande, who will be published tomorrow morning in the first pages of the Corriere dell’Umbria, the Corriere di Siena and the Corriere di Arezzo.
“In 3 years – says the minister – we have destined for sports 1.6 billion euros aimed at sports facilities, to offer modern, safe and inclusive sports places, in the awareness of the contribution that this sector offers to social cohesion, health and quality of community life. We have done so much, but there is so much to do.”.
In the interview Abodi also traces a net line on the after Olympics: Milan-Cortina will not only be an event, but a long-term infrastructure plan from more than 3 and a half billion euros, with road, highway and railway works expected for decades and a significant share destined to sports facilities. “Our goal – says the minister – is not only to help better organize the most important sports competition in the world, but it is also to leave material and intangible inheritance, not only sports”.
For the most complex infrastructure, the government claims the choice to open the yards even after the Games to avoid interference and ensure the completion of the interventions in 2033. “The infrastructure investments – says Abodi – amount to more than 3 and a half billion euros, of which almost 15% dedicated to sports facilities, with road, highway and railway works waited for decades, some of which, due to their design and construction complexity, will need time and for which we will open the yards after the Games to not create harmful interference and that will be ended in 2033′′′.
With regard to the National Football Team and waiting for World Championship qualification, Abodi says: “We want the 2026 World Championship in USA, Canada and Mexico especially for our children, our grandchildren, however for the youngest who have never seen Italy in the field, because the last participation in 2012 saw us enter and exit very quickly from the competition. There is trust and cannot be otherwise.”.
The minister also demands record investments on basic sport and on planting, the relaunch of the Youth Games as a national educational project and structural measures for women sports, from support to professionalism to interventions to protect athletes as – says Abodi – “support for the maternity of athletes for which we have provided a monthly contribution equal to 1.000 euro for 12 monthly”. Abodi also answers questions about the successes of the national and local volleyball and traces the point on investments in Umbria, region indicated as an example of widespread sport and social garrison.
-Photo IPA Agency-
(ITALPRESS).
