Agnelli Foundation, a scholarship to study and play football at an American college

Often in Italy there is still a choice to choose: study or professional sports path? If you are a woman, it is more difficult. 93% of kids who play championship soccer at Primavera level don't become professionals, but many of them get lost trying. Let's also assume that sooner or later time will decide that you can no longer stay on the field: how can you survive in the world of football without having coaching behind you? Or how to build an alternative career without speaking a foreign language, not even English? Furthermore, women's professional football only has 10 teams, and the presence of foreign players is still very high. In short, girls have even fewer guarantees than men of being able to make it, of being able to fulfill the dream of playing for most of their lives, or of earning salaries equal to those of their male colleagues.

My Launch in the USA wants to revolutionize this scheme and overcome the delay that Italy still suffers compared to other countries, especially the United States, France and Spain. A program that sees the Agnelli Foundation enter the field alongside College Life Italia and offer scholarships that allow you to attend university courses at a college in the US, as well as utilize your footballing talent in university leagues abroad.

The project was presented today in Milan during a press conference at the headquarters of the Italian League. It is a project that aims to combine university study opportunities abroad with sports, both at a high level, and is intended for female students and graduates in Italy. A project that aims to combine quality football playing at a competitive level with personal motivation and good academic results. Above all, a project that wants to help and support young people who dream of having an important international training experience, but do not have the economic means. Young women and men, with special attention to women's football.

“Those who believe in the importance of good university education and training experiences abroad – said Andrea Gavosto, Director of the Agnelli Foundation – should ask themselves how to give the opportunity to enhance and develop their skills to those who could never allow this. The Agnelli Foundation also tries to make its contribution through projects such as My Kickoff USA, which can have exemplary and replicable value “Since 2013, College Life has changed the lives of more than 1,500 children by giving them the opportunity to play sports and study at America's most prestigious universities,” were the words of College Life Italia Radio President Stefano. «The Italian Women's League, despite the great achievement of professionalism, hides risks for some young athletes – began Antonio Cincotta, multi-titled professional women's football coach and university professor – There are only 10 teams, and the presence of foreign champions is high Therefore, school life is considered alongside a career; Football is an absolute priority. The risk of not arriving is there; education gives you a future that depends on you, not on events.”

Certificates of distinction are Regina Baresi, former captain of the Inter women's football team and TV presenter, and Giorgio Chiellini, captain of the European champion national team and now a player for Los Angeles FC. “Over the years of my professional career, I realized how difficult it is to continue sports and study in Italy – recalled Regina Baresi – while in the United States it seems to me that this is a more encouraged and standardized practice. That is why I believe that virtuous projects of a social nature like this can change the lives of football players. Aspiring young footballer.

Chiellini said: “The relationship between education and sport has changed for the better both on the part of athletes who are beginning to understand the need for it and in their post-career years – the opportunity to study during a professional career opens the mind, helps to stay in touch with the world. In this period Especially, in which a lot of things are read in the world of football, studying could have helped to stay connected to reality. Study is education, and it is an added value for the present, not just for the future. Our world is a bubble, and you have been living with great pressures for a long time Too early, and you find yourself managing huge sums of money and fortunately today there is also more openness and availability on the part of institutions to find a solution that allows athletes to study. When I started when I was 20, it was much more difficult.”

How exactly does the program work? To receive the scholarships, students who have obtained their high school diploma in the 2022/23 academic year or will graduate at the end of the current year, play football at a competitive level and reside in Italy, can apply. On the basis of the initial selection made by College Life, the Agnelli Foundation will in turn award scholarships to definitely deserving candidates, who come from disadvantaged social contexts and whose families do not have the economic capacity for the investment required by a full course of study in the United States. Therefore, socio-economic status is a crucial condition for obtaining the scholarship. The amount of each scholarship will be such that it fully covers the difference between the scholarship paid by the US College and the total amount needed to enroll, attend and continue for the duration of the university course, which is usually 4 years.

In 2024, the Agnelli Foundation will select and reward one male and one female candidate, with a commitment of approximately $50,000 for the first year. In the following years, this commitment will grow progressively to cover continued accommodation at the College for already awarded candidates who have begun their journey, and to reward and initiate new candidates. The application deadline for this first year is set for January 15, 2024. Selection results will be announced by March 15, and departure is scheduled for August.