Memorial Day: the initiatives of the Amateur League’s CSR Area with youth and schools
Figurines that become the manifesto of a memory to be cherished and passed on to new generations. The Social Responsibility Area of the Amateur League launches the “Figurine of Memory” initiative, promoted with Figurine Forever and ANED – National Association of Former Deportees to Nazi Camps, which continues to be enriched with new stories and testimonies.
In 2026, the collection expands with new figurines dedicated to Armando Frigo, a Fiorentina and Vicenza soccer player shot by the Nazis; Ferdinando Valletti, an AC Milan player deported to Mauthausen and survivor of the horror of the camps; and Bruno Neri, a partisan soccer player for Torino, Fiorentina and the national team who was killed in conflict with the Nazis. These new figurines join those already made in previous years, dedicated to Carlo Castellani, Empoli player who died in the Mauthausen camp; and Vittorio Staccione, footballer for Torino, Cremonese and Fiorentina, who was arrested and deported to Mauthausen; to Coriolano Perioli, president of Spezia Calcio, captured for providing aid to partisan forces and deported; to Árpád Weisz, coach of Inter and Bologna, deported to Auschwitz; and to Renzo Cavallina, goalkeeper of Parma, who refused to join the Republic of Salò and was deported to a concentration camp in Germany.
“Figurine della Memoria” interweaves sports, history and testimony with the aim of bringing new generations closer to the value of memory. This endeavor will be the focus of an initiative scheduled for Jan. 27 in Rome, at Esperienza Europa, in the heart of Holocaust Remembrance Day and featuring students from Biagio Pascal and Charles Darwin High School (Rome) and representatives of ANED. The morning will be preceded by a visit to the Fossoli concentration camp, a symbolic place of deportation. Speakers at the meeting will include Nando Tagliacozzo, a witness to October 16, 1943, the day of the Nazi raid of the Jews of Rome; Marco Caviglia, head of educational activities at the Museum of the Shoah; and Luca De Simoni, coordinator of the Social Responsibility Area of the National Amateur League.
The meeting will be held on January 27, 1943.
“January 27 invites us not to forget that the deportation affected people with passions and life projects – declares Luca De Simoni. “Telling their stories means remembering that we are not talking about symbols, but about individuals in whom today’s youth can recognize themselves. In this way, memory is rooted in the present and maintains its relevance. Thanks to ANED and Figurine Forever for their commitment and work carried out again this year.”
The initiatives will also cross regional committees, involving schools, symbolic places and sports realities. In the Veneto region, a visit to the Venice Ghetto and synagogues is being planned, which will see the participation of a representation of girls and boys, giving them the opportunity to learn firsthand about a place of great historical and cultural value. In Sardinia, a meeting will be held within a comprehensive school, involving elementary schools, middle schools and the first year of high school in three inland municipalities, with the intention of encouraging dialogue and reflection among students of different age groups.
In Emilia-Romagna, on the other hand, two Under 15 formations will take part in a guided tour of the Fossoli Museum in Carpi, a symbolic place of deportation, with a concluding moment dedicated to the distribution of stickers. In the Marche region, a meeting is planned at a school in the Pesaro area, while in Tuscany an activity will be held at a Florentine sports club, dedicated to the memory of deported soccer players, interweaving history and sports values. Finally, in Bolzano, during the week of remembrance, a meeting will be organized on the history of the Bolzano Lager, to keep attention alive on a fundamental page of local and national history.
