The Francesco Medri Memorial, 10 years after the death of the very young resident of Ponte Pietra, taken away prematurely from the suffering of an illness that leaves no escape, left the five-a-side football and seven-a-side football fields and entered with a truly great success with the public and solidarity in the universe (more than competitive for those who live in the Cesena and Romagna areas) of the maraffone.
An event that attracted an unexpected and large audience: thanks to the friends and relatives who organized it, but also to the many sponsors who supported the initiative, ensuring that many could be present and donate for a charitable cause.
The tournament took place over the weekend in the so-called “priest’s bar”: the club inside the parish of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Ponte Pietra. Forty-eight participants: twenty-four couples who challenged each other “with threes and aces” with Romagna cards, starting around 2.30 pm and ending the challenge with the announcement of the winners almost close to midnight.
Thanks to the initiative’s external supporters (such as Pasticceria Romagna, Medri and Cofim real estate; the Samorè-Faggiotto studio, Il Bosco dei Fiori and Magica Arredamenti of Forlì) the competition field also had a sort of open bar and a shopper where you could purchase for charitable purposes. Through a QR code which was also present on the initiative’s Instagram profile, anyone who left any type of free offering could choose an association to donate to. A “race within the race” which ultimately saw the “Voce all’autism” association prevail: a voluntary body representing a group of families, all from the Forlì and Cesena area, united by the common project of giving hope for a future serene, dignified and as autonomous as possible, for people with autism, protect their rights and try to have more and more timely diagnoses, together with guarantees of rehabilitative and specialized treatment.
They will receive the 2,000 euros collected during the day which, especially between 4pm and 8pm, saw attendance peaks of up to 200 people at the same time: to watch the maraffa competitions, donate, nibble on something and have fun together.
At the end of it all, the Francesco Medri Memorial’s roll of honor has also been enriched: even if it no longer concerns goals scored in seven-a-side football. The first maraffone memorial dedicated to the boy from Ponte Pietra went to two true Pontepietresi such as Massimiliano Minghelli and Christian Angeli. Second place for Alessandro Castellini and Vlad Fabbri and the podium closed by bronze medalists Andrea Ferretti and Antonio Filace. For a day to spend together that was so successful that it promises a similar bright future next year too.
