An unprecedented European cultural and sporting event dedicated to people with mental disorders, victims of stigma and social discrimination, is underway in Rome. It is the Dream Euro Cup 2024, the first European 5-a-side Futsal Football Championship for Mental Health taking place until September 27 at the Palazzetto dello Sport. Twelve nations are involved, with more than 150 participants including players and technical staff: Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Hungary and England. The participating athletes have played or are playing soccer and, in most cases, are in the care of public or private psychiatric facilities. Great champions such as Demetrio Albertini, Giuseppe Bergomi, David Trezeguet and Lorenzo Pellegrini, as well as personalities from culture and show business, have rallied in their support. At the origin of the event is the intuition of psychiatrist Santo Rullo and then the experience of "Crazy for Football", the Italian National 5-a-side soccer team for people with mental health problems, founded in 2016 with the desire to become a tool to raise awareness for the fight against stigma and to promote soccer as a complementary rehabilitative tool, especially among young people. A project that so far, in Italy and beyond, has involved thousands of people including psychiatric patients, mental health and sports workers, students and teachers from schools and universities and that has also arrived in Italian homes thanks to the film "Crazy for Football”.
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