The 11-a-side football team of Unisalento students confirmed, for the fourth consecutive year, first in the 2024 national university championships (CNU) by winning the gold medal at the annual event, this year held in Campobasso and Termoli, of the Italian sports universities (CUS).
Other Unisalento students also achieved flattering results in the competitions held over the course of a week: Chiara Lezzi, a law student, competed in a taekwondo competition in a weight category higher than hers and won the bronze medal; in clay pigeon shooting, Pasquale Salinaro, enrolled in Civil Engineering, won the silver medal, while Iacopo Tarlo, freshman in Sports Sciences, reached the tennis quarterfinals. Good result also in basketball where our students defeated CUS Genova who had won the silver medal last year.
Excellent results, therefore, for the student-athletes of Unisalento, who enthusiastically participate in the sporting event organized annually by FederCusi (the Federation of university sports) in an ever-changing Italian city. Around 3,000 male and female students who practice sports at high levels participated in the 2024 edition of Campobasso, considered a small national “Olympics”.
The football team is made up of 24 players enrolled in various degree courses: a group that, over the years, under the guidance of Mr. Vittorio Botrugno and Paolo Verdesca (Unisalento graduates in Economics), has proven to be very close-knit and has allowed the triumph of Unisalento in this specialty.
“The technical level of the sporting event is very high, students competing in the top divisions of sports championships compete,” underlines the professor. Luigi Melica who represents Unisalento in the Unisport Italian University Network and who has accompanied the Unisalento team for years. “Therefore, to get to the top of the rankings it is not enough to be a good athlete, but it is essential to have a valid support project. At Unisalento, a very advanced dual career student-athlete regulation, both university and sports, is in force, which allows male and female students to successfully follow both paths, managing not only to win, but also to graduate. Not only that: the University has also invested heavily in sport at an educational level, activating the three-year degree course in Sports Law and Management and the three-year and master’s courses in Sports Sciences. I can proudly say that behind the victories there is an extraordinary organization, both sporting and university. Cus Lecce has always been involved in the creation of CNU and in the management and organization of university sport, from its President Massimo Dima (and his predecessor Roberto Rella) to all the other members of the board. But the University also contributes personally: in addition to me, the Economic Sciences official Claudio Campilongo has always been present and takes care of the bureaucratic aspects of the participation of football student athletes. Furthermore, all Unisalento teachers ensure the proper functioning of the student-athlete regulations during the entire academic year. All this makes our students mentally free during sports competitions and those who play sports know well that you can only win in this way. I cannot fail to thank our Rector who supported the students with his encouragement throughout the sporting event and who rejoices with us in our sporting victories which, as he repeatedly states, make him particularly proud”.
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