Starfinancer

On December 30 of last year the lawyer Vito Cozzoli, CEO of Sport and Health, had explained that “soon” another 80 million in extraordinary contributions would be distributed to the Federations, after they had received 288 full contributions in December. “Soon”, said Cozzoli, those 80 million euros received from the state would arrive, “after sitting at the table with all the federal presidents, after listening to and sharing their projects that we are the first to want to implement”. But that money never made it to Sport and Health: Cozzoli was waiting for them in January, so that he could reunite the board of directors, urge the Federations he is in constant contact with to prepare their projects and finally, in March, distribute those funds to the 44 Federations that need it given the many projects to be carried out. And we are already almost halfway through the season.

The fault of this stalemate is certainly not Cozzoli’s. He was (is) ready to play the part of him: but those public funds seem to have stopped at the Court of Auditors. Bureaucratic problems? It is not known. Sport runs, politics slows down (when it doesn’t cause trouble). In fact, we are already five months behind schedule. The first distribution of public funds last year had created some discontent, Petrucci in the lead, because some Federations had been “awarded” and received more than others. Cozzoli had explained that no one had been penalized, “not one euro less” and that the chosen algorithm was “democratic”. Now, with those 80 million more, a real boon, we could finally heal many situations and maybe erase some grumbling. The problem is that this money has not yet arrived: we hope that Vezzali will take care of it and can unblock the situation. Well that goes, however, before June-July those funds will not arrive in the coffers of the Federations.

Meanwhile, the board of Sport and Health should be completed in mid-month with the appointments of Professor Roberto Farnè by Minister Bianchi (after the Bussetti mess, with widespread discontent in the Democratic Party) and Professor Valeria Bonifacino by Minister Speranza ( see Spy Calcio of 1 June). Now the two names will be examined by parliamentary committees after the next elections: but everything should go there. Also in this case, there were not a few delays and problems. The representatives of Lega A and 5 Stelle leave the scene, at least for now.

The Department had set up an institutional table to analyze the many problems that sport has (just think of swimming pools, with Barelli’s desperation …). A meeting was held then total silence. It is true that relations between the world of sport, especially that of football, and government representatives are not always good, they are often conflicting: but is it possible that a fighter like Vezzali has given up?