The social and economic relevance of sports in Italy

The debate highlighted the economic and social importance of sports as well as the complexity of challenges facing public policy-makers in the field. In Italy, sport continues to represent a phenomenon with profound social roots. Fields, gyms and arenas cover the national territory better than any other social structure and play a key role in community aggregation. The organizational model of Italian sport is one of the country’s success stories. Italy’s national teams compete at the top level in all major international meets, starting with the Olympics. CONI (Italy’s Olympic Committee) is in the avant-garde of the fight against doping, and it successfully manages its public spending. Serious problems remain in the creation of new and adequate infrastructure – both at the highest levels (soccer stadiums) and the lowest (areas where kids learn to play and which are particularly degraded in certain regions). As the European Commission’s 2007 White Book suggests, adequate financing – which can guarantee autonomy in sports activities and render public funding stable and long-term – is called for. In general, public policy to favor sport must take on not only the physical aspects of educating youth, but the moral aspects of that education. Basic sports education, developed within the academic environment, is the best antidote to violence. Nevertheless, to stop hooliganism around sports events, collaboration must be definite, responsible, and total, amongst all the actors: police, sports organizations, the media.