On the day of the UEFA Nations League match, to be played at Mapei Stadium, between Italy and Poland, the access road to the black&green training center – Mapei Football Center – and its synthetic turf field were named after Giorgio Squinzi, former President of Mapei and Patron of Sassuolo Calcio, and Adriana Spazzoli, former Marketing & Communication Director of Mapei Group and Vice President of Sassuolo Calcio.
In addition to the Squinzi family and the Club, Gabriele Gravina, FIGC President, Gian Francesco Menani, Mayor of Sassuolo, and Giammaria Manghi, Head of Cabinet of the Emilia-Romagna Region (on behalf of Stefano Bonacini) were present at the ceremony.
The event was also attended by representatives of the Italian National team, guest of Sassuolo Calcio’s training ground for their last training behind closed doors before the match against Poland that will be played at Mapei Stadium that same evening at 8:45.
The proposal of naming the street after Giorgio Squinzi has been accepted and supported by the City Council of Sassuolo.
“We thank the municipality for their beautiful gesture. Arriving at Mapei Football Center, Sassuolo’s home, along the street named after our father is very symbolic. He always believed in the team and somehow paved the way for their success. He strongly wanted the Mapei Football Center, which was another milestone confirming Mapei’s strategy and choices in the world of sport, with the same philosophy we adopt within the company. The training ground is an investment in view of increasingly important goals and also a meeting point with the fans and the territory thanks to its openness to the community,” said Veronica Squinzi, CEO of Mapei and Vice President of Sassuolo Calcio.
The artificial pitch has obtained the certification of the National Amateur League for official matches of the Youth and Women’s Sector and the “Professional Homologation Certification” of the FIGC’s Sports Facilities Commission. Furthermore, the certification from UEFA for the dispute of international youth competitions is on its way.
“Our mother was very charismatic and knew how to be close to the players, encouraging and supporting them. Naming the pitch after her reminds us of the great contribution she made to the team and the club. The center is a structure of excellence from both a sporting and architectural point of view and for the construction of the synthetic turf pitch, modern construction technologies, with low environmental impact, were preferred, to improve the mechanical characteristics of the ground such as the modern Mapesoil drainage system” commented Marco Squinzi, CEO of Mapei.
“Having the National Team here at our sports center and Mapei Stadium tonight is a great satisfaction and for this I would like to thank the President of FIGC, Gabriele Gravina. Despite the difficulties we are all going through at the moment, today must be a day of joy. We know that we have two extraordinary people who look at us from above and see everything that has been achieved and that we are moving forward. Our work is in line with what Giorgio Squinzi and Adriana Spazzoli taught us; to them and to the Squinzi family goes our most sincere thanks“, stated Giovanni Carnevali, CEO of Sassuolo Calcio.
“It is a special day that makes you understand the meaning of a beautiful experience that is articulated between the time of memory and our existence. The extraordinary personality of Giorgio Squinzi, his planning, his vision of the world of sport emerge clearly today here in Sassuolo. It is also an opportunity to convey, to all those who will spend time in this training center, the beauty and importance of a management model that Giorgio Squinzi wanted to leave to each one of us. Football must be grateful to him because all this will remain in our minds but above all in our hearts. Thanks to him and thanks to his whole family” said Gabriele Gravina, President of FIGC.
Hereafter the photogallery of the event (Pictures: Vignoli)
