Using sport as a tool for inclusion and to combat stigma surrounding mental health.
This is the core message of the "Crazy Challenge" a 5-a-side football tournament held on Friday, October 9, at the Bocconi Sport Center as part of Milano 4 Mental Health 2026, an initiative promoted by the Municipality of Milan to mark World Mental Health Day.
The event featured the Italian "Crazy for Football" national team, composed of athletes supported by local mental health services and selected from across Italy in collaboration with local health authorities (ASLs), day centers, and therapeutic communities.
The day began with a special selection session to identify new players for the upcoming World Cup. Afterward, four teams took the field for the Crazy Challenge: Crazy for Football, a Municipality of Milan squad featuring Inter and Milan legends, a Bocconi team, and a Play2Give team. It was a sporting event that brought together institutions, football figures, and the university community around a shared goal: helping to combat the stigma associated with mental health.
As Santo Rullo, founder of Crazy for Football and president of the International Football Committee for Mental Health, emphasizes, wearing the "azzurro" (Italian national) jersey allows athletes to see themselves in an active role defined by pride, commitment, and a sense of belonging; they are no longer defined solely by their condition, but recognized for who they are and what they can achieve.
The Crazy Challenge was thus much more than a tournament: it was an opportunity to put into practice the values Bocconi Sport promotes through athletics, fostering relationships, participation, and respect for differences. It was a commitment shared with the many organizations involved in Milano 4 Mental Health, including the Cariplo Foundation.
Indeed, it is precisely here that sport reveals its deepest meaning: not merely competing to win, but learning to recognize a fellow human being in the other, before any label comes into play. For a true community is built when everyone is given the chance to take the field.