From today the “Pasquale Mandato” Penitentiary Center in Secondigliano, in Naples, has a new basketball court: the inauguration of the playground, renovated by the Italian Basketball Federation with the participation of the “Fondazione Lottomatica" and the collaboration of the non-profit association "Seconda Chance", took place today following a press conference held inside the prison.
The project was started last autumn, construction work began in mid-February and was completed last week: a tangible and concrete contribution to Social Responsibility and carried out at zero kilometres, thanks to the intervention of a company from Naples which has already worked on the redevelopment of several other playgrounds in Campania. The first part of the work, which involved the removal of debris and weeds from the field, was carried out by some inmates of the Secondigliano Institute
The colors chosen for the pitch were Light Blue, in homage to all our national teams, and Orange, the color of the basketball.
After years, the camp is once again accessible to prisoners and will see the FIP involved, through the contribution of the Campania Regional Committee, in various activities aimed at teaching and spreading our discipline.
The president of Ge.Vi Napoli Federico Grassi also took part in the press conference together with a delegation from the Neapolitan team, and the general manager of Givova Scafati Alessandro Giuliani.
The speeches were opened by Giulia Russo, Director of the “Pasquale Mandato” Penitentiary Center in Secondigliano: “Greetings and thanks to the FIP and the other entities that were protagonists of this work. This is an important goal achieved by the Institute I direct, I am happy because our inmates see that what we promise them is then kept. The camp will live with many activities, we have already arranged the shifts for use by medium security prisoners. This is a special day for us, thanks to all of you."
Giovanni Russo, Head of the Penitentiary Administration Department, then spoke"First of all I want to say that I was a basketball player, not a top player but I tried and I liked it a lot. I want to give you a fact, in 2024 24 suicides occurred within our institutions, the only thing these tragedies have in common is that none of these inmates practiced sports. Through basketball, and therefore sport, policies can be implemented to prevent psychological distress which can then lead to suicide. This camp will offer prisoners the opportunity to learn to respect the rules again through the figures of referees and coaches, it will teach them to compete with each other with energy but always within the respect that is the basis of sport. I thank the structure of Secondigliano, my thoughts full of gratitude go to the animators of this idea, it is not obvious that the FIP would show this enthusiasm in donating the pitch to us and it was not obvious that we would do it in Secondigliano either. The presence of President Petrucci is a strong testimony, which I take as a sign of respect for the role I hold and for the importance of what we do. A heartfelt thank you also to Lottomatic and “Second Chance”.
Then it was Lucia Castellano's turn, Superintendent of the Penitentiary Administration of the Campania Region: “I join in the thanks, Secondigliano is a structure that welcomes every proposal, a hotbed of initiatives. We have an important mandate, given that in Campania we have more than 7.000 prisoners. All people who have the right, for us a duty, to have a full day, which means building a route safely. To do this we need external forces. The value of using the structures changes depending on whether there is external help, Sport is certainly among the activities that most teaches team building. I am happy and certain that Secondigliano will make the best use of this new structure."
President Petrucci returned to the words of DAP Chief Giovanni Russo: “His words struck me, we are the ones who have to thank you for this opportunity and not the other way around. Often our thoughts, within the Federation, turn to the field and the sporting result to be achieved, for example with our national teams, but we strongly wanted this initiative of concrete social responsibility and are truly happy to have completed it together with you. Let us live more experiences like this and we will be with you."
Gennaro Schettino, Director of External Relations of Lottomatic, reiterated the commitment of his company: "We have joined this project without hesitation, sport and sociality are the guidelines of the foundation Lottomatic. Being here today is very important for us, I hope that in the near future we can meet again to experience more days like this."
The press conference closed with Flavia Filippi, President of the non-profit association “Seconda Chance”: “On 5 December 2022 ago I proposed this idea to President Petrucci and obtained his support, we would like to replicate this idea shortly in the Catanzaro prison. For me and for our Association today is truly a fantastic day: "Seconda Chance" acts as an intermediary between the world of work and prisons and has already found 270 job offers: many prestigious companies have already signed up to our proposal, the Our network in every city is becoming more and more widespread and it is a project that is getting richer every day."
At the end of the press conference, guests, guests and speakers reached the playground to proceed with the blessing and inauguration of the pitch, which was immediately used for an improvised 3 against 3 which saw some inmates and the boys from Ge.Vi Napoli as protagonists .
