Odiare non è uno sport
The positive values of sport, on and off the field
The National Project
Thirteen NGOs are involved across the country—a powerful team promoting the positive values of sport, standing together for integration and inclusion.
Spreading awareness and sharing a different side of the story
We are promoting the campaign #Odiarenoneunosport (#HateIsNotASport), which involves well-known athletes and mobilises youth activism.
Through the tools of the campaign—10 short videos addressing key hate-related words in sport, 20 photo reports with athlete ambassadors, a blog offering counter-narratives and positive examples of standing up to intolerance in sport, a Bullyctionary (an online bullying dictionary developed in collaboration with Assicurazioni Generali), 20 radio ads, an Instagram contest, and banners at 20+ sporting events—we aim to reach over 1.5 million people. The goal is to raise awareness of the issue while also highlighting positive stories of inclusion and integration through sport.
Working with schools and sports clubs
We’ve developed educational units and interactive training paths to encourage young people to reflect on the phenomenon of hate speech in sport and to give them tools to respond. We work with 1,200 students from lower and upper secondary schools, 2,200 young athletes aged 11–18 who are members of amateur sports clubs, 200 teachers, and 150 coaches or sports club managers.
Mobilising youth
Local anti-hate teams made up of young athletes from various sports disciplines will be trained to identify and respond appropriately to hate speech in sports, supported by legal and ethical guidelines.
These seven teams, one in each of seven areas, will each include 10 young people. Over the course of a year, they will monitor at least 80 social media groups, profiles, and pages linked to sports clubs, and—together with students from participating schools—organise 10 local flash mobs simultaneously on World Sports Day to draw attention to the issue.
Studying the Phenomenon to Counter It
As part of the project, the CODER Research Centre at the University of Turin conducted the second edition of the Barometer of Hate in Sport. The study monitored social media (Facebook and Twitter) activity related to the five main Italian sports news outlets — Gazzetta dello Sport, Tuttosport, Corriere dello Sport, Sky Sport, and Sport Mediaset — over a three-month period, from October 1st, 2022 to January 6th, 2023. Four key dimensions of hate speech were identified: offensive language, verbal aggression, physical aggression, and discrimination. Out of a total of 3,412,956 Facebook comments and 29,625 Twitter comments analysed, around one million were classified as hate speech, and approximately 200,000 contained at least one discriminatory reference.
Online Hate Speech in Sports Is a Growing Phenomenon. It mostly takes the form of verbal aggression and is most prevalent in social media comments related to football, the sport that overwhelmingly dominates the Italian sports news cycle. However, it is also significant in relation to volleyball and basketball. There has been a slight decrease in expressions linked to physical aggression and discrimination, but these remain at worryingly high levels, especially when directed at athletes who—in real life—speak out and denounce acts of racism.
ASPEm’s Activities
As part of the national project, ASPEm is responsible for leading activities in its local area.
These include educational and awareness-raising sessions held in both schools and sports settings, aimed at strengthening young people’s resilience and supporting adults in developing shared goals and strategies.
Partners
Odiare non è uno Sport is promoted by CVCS in collaboration with Amici dei Popoli • CELIM • COMI • COPE • CSI • ImpactSkills • SIAVS • ISF • Centro Nazionale Sportivo Libertas • LVIA • Progetto Mondo • Università di Torino • Università di Trieste
Co-funded by Agenzia Italiana per la Cooperazione allo Sviluppo 
