Philadelphia Junior Cup – “Meeting the Champion” with Matteo Pessina | OneFootball

Yesterday afternoon, Bologna hosted the fourth stop of the Philadelphia Junior Cup | Keep Racism Out, the national seven-a-side youth tournament dedicated to local teams from the 17 cities competing in the Serie A 2025/26 season.

Players from Oratorio Santa Teresa were welcomed to the Niccolò Galli Technical Centre for an afternoon training session focused on reflecting on the values of sport. Alongside boys and girls from Bologna’s youth academy, they met Matteo Pessina for a discussion centred on the project’s core principles: friendship, respect and inclusion.

Pessina shared his personal experience with the youngsters, highlighting the importance of teamwork and inclusion — in football and beyond. The players from Oratorio Santa Teresa presented him with a shirt bearing the message “Football is friendship”, a tangible symbol of the values the initiative aims to promote.

The midfielder then signed the Philadelphia Junior Cup | Keep Racism Out kit, presented by Lega Serie A to the local team captains, underlining the strong educational mission behind the project.