Turin's Aurora neighbourhood faces real socio-economic difficulty, from unemployment to educational poverty, alongside a large foreign population. Against that backdrop, access to sport for young people is sharply limited by cost, cultural barriers, and a real lack of inclusive opportunities built specifically for girls in the area.
The gender gap in sport and early dropout among teenage girls are worsened here by cultural prejudice and costs that many families simply cannot afford. What girls in Aurora need is a safe, socio-educational space of their own, one that promotes healthy habits, health and connection rather than isolation and educational poverty.
The project
The project #NoDifference removes the cost barrier entirely, offering free football scholarships to children at high risk of exclusion, girls and boys alike, using sport to break down economic and cultural barriers and treat diversity as a resource rather than an obstacle. Genders, disabilities and different backgrounds take part together, by design rather than by accident.
The project runs through a structured partnership between the sports club, a local school and a social institution, giving it the kind of everyday support a football club alone couldn't offer. Sport becomes a tool to challenge stereotypes and build active citizenship, aiming for high retention among participants rather than a one-off experience.
Who the project is for
The project's direct beneficiaries are 40 minors at high risk of exclusion, due to disability, economic hardship or migrant background, at least 20 of them girls, each receiving a free sports scholarship.
Its impact reaches further, to over 250 families in the Aurora neighbourhood involved in the accompanying educational pathways, and to the wider local community and school and associative network, which benefit as the inclusive model spreads.
Project name: #NoDifference
Proposing organisation: ASD GiuCo'97
Area of intervention: Inclusion & Social Development
Country: Italy