Fun and drills at the first edition of Soccer Camp Prague

Around seventy children, mostly from socially disadvantaged background selected in a cooperation with the NGO People in Need, attended the first edition of the Soccer Camp Prague, a unique one week football training with top class Italian coaches. The camp was held between August 21st and 25th in Prague’s football club Loko Vltavín and thanks to Generali Čeká pojišt'ovna and Generali CEE Holding‘s support, it was free of charge for all participants.

“The initiative confirms the commitment of the Generali Group to support projects that promote a culture of solidarity and social inclusion through the positive values of sports,” said Manlio Lostuzzi, Central Eastern Europe Regional Officer of Generali International. “At Generali we act as a force for good in building a more resilient and just society, therefore as responsible citizen, we are proud to strengthen the bond with local communities unlocking the young generation potential”.

“With our comprehensive and ever-expanding programs, we are focusing on the next generation, because we want every child to be able to develop their abilities in the environment in which they live. We strongly believe that with our tools we have to create an opportunity for development: with our support, the Czech young teenager football players even from disadvantaged circumstances can show and develop their skills at the Soccer Camp this year” stressed Roman Juráš, CEO of Generali Česká pojišťovna.

Three most talented participants were announced during the closing ceremony on the last day of the camp. Together with children from similar camps in other CEE countries, they will take part in the Italian Football Camp Day, a three-day sports programme in Coverciano, the home centre of the Italian national team.

During their visit to Italy, the children will have the opportunity to further develop their football skills through training, competitions, matches and also visit the Italian Football Museum and a Serie A match.

"I strongly believe in sporting values and initiatives such as Soccer Camp Prague, which aims to help disadvantaged children grow up through sport," said Italian football player Alessandro Del Piero, the project's ambassador, during a recent visit to Prague. "It is essential to offer equal opportunities to most children to enable them to develop their abilities."

Soccer Camp Prague was organised by World Camp International, an Italian organisation with over 20 years of experience in running similar camps in Europe.