The School at the Stadium

One of the most important initiatives of the Club aimed at young people is “The School at the Stadium”. It is a socio-educational project promoted and organized by the Club, aimed mainly at the students of primary and first grade secondary schools but is also open for the first two grades of second grade secondary schools, whose educational value has been recognized for years by the National Observatory on Sport Events of the Ministry of the Interior.
The project has seen 18 editions, involving 25.000 students. The 19th Edition, the one that was to start in the spring of 2020 and was about to take place, was suspended due to the pandemic.

“The School at the Stadium” was born in 2001 as an idea of Lucia Castelli, a phycopedagogist of the Youth Sector, and of Stefano Bonaccorso, once a coach of the Youth Sector, now the coordinator for basic activities.

The goals are the following:

• to encourage the collaboration between Atalanta and the school;
• to point out the educational and cultural value of football;
• to get young people used to enjoy the sport events in civilized way;
• to help prevent racism;
• to promote peaceful coexistence and fair play among young people.

It is a sport-educational project of which the high educational value is recognized also by the National Observatory on Sport Events of the Ministry of the Interior.

On a Thursday morning, as it’s always been in the last years, during the school hours, the young students of the 4th and 5th grade of the primary school and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of the first-grade secondary schools (middle school), for one day, try participating and experiencing the emotions of the important sport events that usually are held on Sunday. The schoolchildren arriving at the Stadium are welcomed by the staff of “The school at the Stadium” that accompany the students, through seven different steps and the tour ends with exploring little-known aspects of the football world. The pupils are led by the competent personnel who also use the help of some involving tactics as “the journey diary” (which is gifted to each participant), a quiz game and reading some selected pieces of sport literature.

The visit is divided in 7 steps.

• The first step: visit to the stadium: from the entrance gate to the bleachers, from the dressing room to the pitch through the tunnel;
• The second step: running on the turf.
• The third step: the bench – a special point of view.
• The fourth step: finally, game time.
• The fifth step: making thoughts on social and cultural aspects of football;
• The sixth step: meeting and debate with a player of Atalanta;
• The seventh step: participating in contests.

There are three contests and they are awarded. Schoolchildren participate in these contests presenting their poems, slogans, videos, posters, photos, songs, music, graphic projects and drawings, art objects.

• Atalanta: the mythology of the name.
• My slogan against racism.
• My Decalogue on security.

1. Respect of rules: ethics in sport.
2. The Stadium: a meeting point not a fighting point.
3. The proper way to cheer.
4. Sport journalism: bright and dark sides.
5. The history of Atalanta.
6. True principles of the sport lifestyle.
7. The security in and out of a football pitch

We are looking forward to being able to organize the 19th Edition. 25.000 students of Schools of Bergamo (and not only of Bergamo) have participated in the editions so far. 1.704 teachers, 173 university students as well.