Fienga: Roma needs to help those less fortunate

Since the outbreak of Covid-19 in Italy, Roma has been at the forefront of football’s response to the pandemic, raising over half a million Euros for hospitals in the capital whilst also supporting the club’s most vulnerable local fans.

Speaking to the SIR news agency in Rome, the Giallorossi CEO explained why he believes it’s so important for the club to help those most in need during moments like this…

Masks, sanitiser, equipment to allow patients to connect with their families, food parcels. AS Roma have been – and continue to be – one of the most active clubs during the Covid-19 emergency. Why are you going to such lengths?

“First and foremost, we know that AS Roma is much more than a football team. It’s probably the most important social platform in the city, because this club is absolutely unique in the close bond it has with the city and its state of mind. It’s not just a point of reference for the fans – it’s much more than that. Therefore, we decided to build on that deep bond between the team and the fans by getting the supporters involved in a series of humanitarian and social initiatives designed to benefit everyone.”

Is this why the Roma Cares Foundation was set up?

“Yes. Obviously, all these initiatives are associated with football, but we want to use them to show our support for the most vulnerable and anyone who is struggling. The aim is to address their needs, improve their lives and – if possible – improve the social context they live in too. That’s why the foundation was set up – and it’s become more and more active and present in the local community over the past year and is now capable of coming up with its own projects. By drawing on our colours and our heroes – the players, I’m referring to – we can really fulfil that sense of duty to society that has always been a part of the Roma DNA.”

How useful can a club like Roma be when it comes to helping the more vulnerable parts of the city, regardless of sporting allegiances? And what of the role of football in general?

“It’s useful for everyone to have these kinds of experiences, not just us and not just football in general – and I’m speaking without rhetoric there. I think that anyone who is able to live a good, secure life should have a look at people that don’t have those opportunities. As far as people in the world of football go, it really doesn’t take much at all to give other people a bit more of a chance.”

How are the players dealing with this situation?

“Our players are aware of what’s happening around them and across the world. Like many of their counterparts from different teams, they have visited places where there is suffering and difficulty, such as paediatric wards and foster homes, both at Christmas and at other times during the season, in order to brighten up people’s lives. These experiences – first and foremost for them, but for us too – give us a chance to share the fortune we’ve had and give us the strength and the motivation to be better at our jobs.”

What about COVID-19?

“In terms of coronavirus, our players have abided by all the instructions given, like everyone has. Nobody has left the city and everyone has followed the rules, just like all people of Rome and Italy, without kicking up a fuss. Like everyone, they’re a little concerned and worried about all the victims and all the problems that have been caused by Covid-19. But they are also desperate to get going again.”

There’s a lot of talk about how and when football is going to come back at the moment…

“I think that the idea of a gradual resumption is the right thing to do. After six weeks of quarantine, if the appropriate steps are taken regarding the players and their families, I think we can look to gradually reopen the training centre. We are waiting for information from the relevant authorities on the resumption of competitions, but in the meantime getting back to training would be significant.

"The aim has to be to get back to normality, albeit in stages and with the necessary precautions, without excessive fear. I’m not saying that we should get started again at any cost, sacrificing everything and everyone on the altar of football. Roma has shown how important it is to focus on prudence and prevention: we need to take precautions but it’s important we don’t fall into the trap of ‘emergency dependence’, which – if unchecked – could bring everything grinding to a halt.”

The world will be a different place once the pandemic is over. As the Pope said on Easter Sunday, this time must help us see what it is important to keep and what we should let go of. So, what does football need to keep and what does it need to let go of?

“Like many sectors, football has spent the last few years inside an economic bubble characterised by a concept of infinite and not always sustainable growth. The virus is popping – or at least deflating – all these bubbles, and the one that football was in will be no different. I’m a pragmatic person and I live in the real world, so I see this as the biggest challenge facing us if we want to avoid a complete collapse of the system. That would have catastrophic repercussions on jobs – and I’m obviously not talking about players.”

And what should football let go of?

“There’s lots to let go of – that’s true – but most of all it’s about cleaning things up. I’m referring to lots of things that we considered essential to achieving levels of performance or results and that we’re gradually realising aren’t that essential. I think we’ll only get through this if we can focus on the collective, on integration between the club and its community – the fans. There are many, many Roma fans around the world. We want those values to be shared by anyone who joins this club, player or otherwise.

AS Roma have American owners. How much has that impacted on your activities away from football?

“The US owners have definitely been the driving force behind our non-footballing initiatives. Charity is the norm in the United States. It’s no coincidence that the Roma Cares foundation stemmed from an idea from club president James Pallotta, who realised that the sense of belonging and integration came from the team and the fans. It’s a unique, special bond which makes this club much more than a sports team.”

Is there scope for further initiatives?

“Definitely. The programme started a long time before coronavirus, in truth. We’re proud that we’ve been running the Calcio Insieme [Football Together] scheme – which aims to get children with learning and social difficulties involved in football – for some years now. We’re also proud of the Missing Children campaign we launched on social media last summer alongside our new signing announcements, with the aim of raising public awareness around missing children across the world.

"The club launched a partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in the United States and with Telefono Azzurro in Italy, among other organisations. The objective was to give visibility to missing children during one of the busiest times for the club’s social media platforms – the transfer window. The initiative contributed to six children all over the world being found. And those are just two examples of the work we do every day – coronavirus simply provided more visibility for what we were already doing.

“We have lots of supporters and we want to get more and more so that we can do more and do it better. Obviously, we want to focus on those that feel a bond with this team around the world, like we did with the ‘New York Kicks Coronavirus’ campaign, which was launched by 34 different fan clubs in New York and raised thousands of dollars for New York Health + Hospitals, the biggest public healthcare system in the USA. The system serves over one million people in over 70 healthcare facilities and aims to take care of the sick regardless of their economic situation or whether or not the patients have valid visas. That kind of initiative shows the power of our club – and our fans are our most precious asset.”

Click here to donate to AS Roma's Covid-19 fundraising campaign.