Today, in CONI's Salone d'Onore, BNL, part of the BNP Paribas Group, in collaboration with CONI, presented "EduCare Sport", the national training program dedicated to former athletes and athletes at the end of their career, to help them make ever more conscious financial choices and follow them in their professional and entrepreneurial projects. The initiative was explained by Luigi Abete and Giovanni Malagò, Presidents of BNL and CONI, respectively.  EduCare Sport fits within the context of the partnership between BNL and CONI, signed last May, which envisages the development of activities and projects aimed at supporting sport at different levels, to encourage entrepreneurial ideas and further spread sport culture, which contributes not only to the physical and mental well-being of individuals, but also to the development of a society that is more and more oriented to the common good and to respect between people.

The program entails a series of free meetings on themes related to "after-career", to train participants on economic, financial and motivational topics: the sustainability of a business plan will be discussed, as possible forms of credit and tools to support entrepreneurship.  In this context, the potential of microcredit will also be explored, thanks to the "PerMicro" experience, a leader company in the sector, of which BNL is shareholder and industrial partner. Furthermore, thanks to a specific module organised by CONI, one will emphasise the importance of the sense of challenge and constancy of effort, typical of sportsmen, as necessary features to reach new professional aims.  The initiative is part of a vaster financial education program called EduCareBNL, started in 2008, which so far has reached more than 230,000 people and 8,000 firms, in more than 5,000 events across all Italy.

Malagò highlighted with pride the content of the project: "EduCare Sport goes in the right direction, because it is a project that tackles one of the big problems of the sporting world. The theme is: what must one do as a grown up? In this direction, BNL gives athletes the tools to face the future in an effective and optimistic way and for this reason it must be complimented. Athletes, thanks to this initiative, will be able to play the business activity card, escorted in a concrete and practical way, along a training path.  BNL, indeed, wants to take athletes by the hand, giving them trust, in a courageous and innovative way: I am sure that one will talk of this project abroad and that from here many success stories will begin. CONI goes beyond its statutory mission and rises to the occasion, together with what is unanimously considered the bank of sport, in a path that, for its significance, ennobles our whole Country. I am sure that for the champions involved it will be an exciting competition, destined to surpass the successes obtained during their career".

Luigi Abete expanded on the topic from BNL's point of view: "The collaboration between CONI and BNL goes back to the beginning of time and today has been strengthened because of the interest shown by the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) in developing this initiative to escort athletes to their future and we put ourselves on the first line in this project. As a bank, our culture is trained towards an open society, which embraces the values heralded by sport. We launched a series of initiatives to support the competitive sports arena, promoting it with a friendly and involved participation.  Firms must be transparent: our headquarters, which, from 2017, will be close to the Tiburtina Station, are just that. Educare è sport is the fourth area of the project, which involves students, citizens, firms and sportsmen. I agree with Malagò when he says that this must be a mass operation. The aim is to enter the sporting world offering an opportunity to whom, in the sporting world, has some issues when considering his or her future direction. We will do what a firm must do: build projects around the person in question, with a strong identity".

At CONI's Salone d'Onore, successful athletes also intervened, athletes who became entrepreneurs or managers, chosen as "special sponsors" of EduCare Sport, to tell their own experience. Alberto Nobis, former European champion for the volley team, is now the managing director for DHL; furthermore, the winners of Olympic golden medals Jury Chechi (gymnast) and Domenico Fioravanti (swimmer), are entrepreneurs in different sectors, as is the former member of the Italian rugby team, Fabio Ongaro. Marisa Muzio, former member of the Italian national swimming team, now sport psychologist, also intervenes, talking about the many aspects that are important for former athletes when taking on new professional challenges; she will bring her contribution also during the seminars.

The EduCare Sport calendar is packed with events, a real road show between Milan, Treviso, Bologna, Formia and Rome: BNL and CONI premises and important Italian sport facilities will all be involved. The first encounter will take place in mid-January, while the final appointment will occur in the context of "Italy's BNL Internationals", scheduled at the Foro Italico next May. Sporting world testimonials will be provided by athletes connected to the place in which each single stop will take place. The full information is available on the educare.bnl.it website.

During the meeting, BNL also presented the competition "'#Alleniamoildomani" ("Training our tomorrow"), through which one can win a journey to Rio de Janeiro to see the Olympics. The only requirement is to upload  an original photo on the website alleniamoildomani.it (from the beginning of December to mid May 2016), in which the protagonist is portrayed during a sporting activity, wearing shoes with the special shoelaces created specifically for the competition and coloured like the Olympic rings. The laces will be distributed from December during CONI and BNL events over the whole of Italy. The photos will be voted by the users of the site alleniamoildomani.it. The competition fits within the recent partnership where BNL is sponsoring CONI for the Olympic Games of Rio 2016.

BNL and CONI already enjoy a collaboration that has lasted for more than 70 years, sharing a story that is made of epic events. To quote the most significant: the Rome 1960 Olympic Games and the World Football Championship "Italia '90"; the sponsorship for the Winter Olympics at Nagano in 1998, the "BNL Cerchi e stelle" (BNL Circles and Stars) project, supporting five female athletes of the Italian National team (Erica Alfridi, Deborah Gelisio, Josefa Idem, Ylenia Scapin and Alessandra Sensini) at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Furthermore, BNL is the partner of 44 Sport Federations and the Bank of the Italian Paralympic Committee and of the main Federations connected to it. In the context of the partnership between BNL and CONI, recently it also launched the "Prestito BNL W lo Sport" (Hurray for Sport BNL bank loan), to support individuals and families in the expenses for sporting activities, offering advantageous conditions.