Tested in 2020 as part of the friendly tournament Colpi di Tacco (Heel Strike), it is part of the best practices aimed at dealing with various aspects of discrimination proposed by Lupi Roma Outsport. Through a communicative, affective humanistic and playful approach, it is aimed at boys and girls of first and second grade high school. It uses Education Through Sport (ETS) to raise awareness about the condition of people living with disabilities through the concrete experience of sports practice, getting to know the basic notions of the concept of disability, and with the aim of developing the attitude to find alternative solutions for interacting with others.
Fitness level: does not require particular athletic skills.
Duration: 3 hours (including breaks).
Participants: 30 people divided into two groups of 15, each followed by two trainers and in 6 teams according to the assigned roles. The groups will run the activities in parallel.
Trainers: 4
Tools: post-its, markers, eye patches, arm bands, ear plugs.
- Introduction and presentation of the participants (35 minutes): the trainer briefly introduces the topic of the day and leaves the floor to the participants for a short one-minute self-presentation.
- Team creation (10 minutes): Each participant will draw a card on which a physical or mental disability is written, and will have to train and play according to the rules prescribed by each card drawn, (the cards will represent both a generic category of disability, which will determine the presence in a given team, and a specific disability of the individual player, e.g.: blindness category – specific – left eye only). Players are divided into two mixed groups, regardless of teams, for the training phase.
| Teams (5 players) | Disability Card (5 cards per type) | Effects | Action | |
| Team 1 | Mutism | Players won’t be able to speak or verbally communicate during both the warm-up and the match. | ||
| Team 2 | Deafness | Players shall wear ear plugs during both the warm-up and the match. | Provide 5 pairs of disposable ear plugs. | |
| Team 3 | Blindness (left eye) | Players shall wear an eye patch during both the warm-up and the match. | Provide 5 disposable eye patches. | |
| Team 4 | Blindness (left eye) | Players shall wear an eye patch during both the warm-up and the match. | Provide 5 disposable eye patches. | |
| Team 5 | immobility (Right arm) | Players won’t be able to use their right arm. | Tie arm with disposable bandage. | |
| Team 6 | Immobility (Left arm) |
Players won’t be able to use their left arm. | Tie arm with disposable bandage. | |
Training (20 minutes): The trainers organize a basic football training that involves passing the ball in various ways (low shot, high shot, two-touch, first shot), conducting the ball while avoiding obstacles and shot on goal.
Matches (30 minutes): Divided into two playing fields, the 6 teams will clash in 3 direct matches (duration: 10 minutes, three-cornered), earning 3 points for each win and 1 point for a tie. Each player will have to respect their role. If rules are not respected, the player will be cautioned for the first infringement and sent off for 5 minutes for the second infringement.
Free match (10 minutes): 30 minutes into the game and without any warning, the players of the teams that are first in the respective three-cornered matches will be informed that there will be one last match where they are free to choose how to play: they can keep their assigned disability, pick a new one or play freely. The aim is to create a disorienting effect that leads to empowerment.
Anonymous feedback (10 minutes): Each player will anonymously write a thought aroused by the emotions they felt during the game on a piece of paper.
Debriefing and introduction of basic notions (40 min): the trainers organize a collective reflection based on the anonymous feedback and leaving the floor to the participants. During this session, the basic notions on the subject are introduced, namely the difference between disability and handicap, as well as the importance of social facilitation according to the definitions of the ICD-10, International Classification of Diseases.
