Balata: "Cagliari, Serie B is won with sacrifice"
The Sardinian president of the League that will host the rossoblù presents the cadet reality and the projects for the territories
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He is a lawyer in Rome, but has Sardinia in his heart. Originally from Calangianus, Mauro Balata, president of Lega B, found Cagliari at home. And, despite the super partes role, he explains exclusively to Sardinian sportsmen how the cadet championship has grown and the values needed to win it.
President Balata, the next Serie B will also welcome the rossoblùs. What will be the repercussions for the league it represents?
«Definitely positive, considering the coat of arms and the history of a club like Cagliari, with a supporters full of passion and with a visceral and indissoluble bond with all of Sardinia. These are strong values which are combined with those of the League and which will produce further benefits for our championship ».
Compared to the last relegation, the Sardinian fans will find a much more competitive B, right? Present it to us.
«Among the many things achieved we can mention the growth from a technical point of view, having become a championship of the highest level and of reference for the whole Italian football system; the internationalization of our product, visible in 40 countries, which has allowed us to make the matches of our clubs accessible to large clusters of Italian fans abroad and beyond; the extraordinary technological innovation with the adoption of new tools such as the Var, the goal-line camera, the use of drones and corner-cams, the innovative system used for the first time in Italy with cameras placed inside the flags , and the special native 4K HDR technology, the best available today on the television production scene, with image definition and colors comparable to the human eye ».
What has all this translated into?
«In a significant enhancement of our product that allows us to offer the viewer a new vision and experience. We have therefore become one of the very first leagues, if not the first second division championship at European level, and all this is certified by what was reported a few months ago by the major football-sports economy portal in the world "SportBusiness" which defined us as the " real surprise success of European football ". Let us never forget, however, that all this happens in a general framework characterized by uncertainty, an economic crisis and with all the negative effects associated with the consequences of the pandemic ”.
In addition to Cagliari, there will be Bari, Palermo, Parma, Venice, Brescia, Perugia, just to name a few top clubs. In this sense, will it be a sort of Serie A2?
"As I said before, our championship has become extraordinarily competitive and attractive, with a parterre of companies of the highest and highest level and with a formidable history behind them that guarantee a further upgrade to our product".
An obvious question, considering that you are the host: how do you go back?
"Here we have fundamental values such as sacrifice, daily work, the ability to face and overcome difficulties together and that of launching the best young talents in our football who find here the stimuli and conditions to assert themselves and show themselves to the great public ".
There is already the Var, but what will be the news of the season that will start in August?
«We are continuously working to consolidate and, where possible, implement our objectives and strategies. In particular, we are studying innovative approaches aimed at the very young generations, who have already registered a great interest in our championship, with new rules of engagement. Young people live an extremely fast and dynamic reality for which we are committed in order to optimize the experience of use, including digital, on sports properties with the generation of innovative content and with new controls on the platforms to increase the fan experience and increase the fan. engagement ".
The cadet, on the field, is above all the youth championship. Do you think coach Mancini's appeal for greater use of the green line could give new impetus to the system?
"Of course. The most technically gifted young people with already structured moral qualities also find in the Serie BKT championship the best stage to play and show off. Lega B and our associates have ambitious goals linked to Italianness, identity and the growth of talent. The efforts and sacrifices made are strategic and fundamental for the growth and future of the entire national football system. However, it is an effort that must finally be rewarded and supported by all those involved and interested in what should be the common final goal, that is, the recovery of a level of competitiveness that allows us to bring Italian football back to the top of European football. and worldwide ".
His relationship with Sardinia is well known, even on the charitable front. What are the initiatives that League B has in store for the island?
«We are constantly engaged on this issue. I am thinking, for example, of the social responsibility project "Factor Campo", promoted by Lega B and the title sponsor of the championship, BKT, through which Cagliari will also compete next season to donate new playing spaces in the 20 cities of our members. It was therefore decided to invest in projects for the renovation or redevelopment of spaces dedicated to sport and leisure ».
How will you act?
«For each territory a project will be identified, in agreement with the municipal administrations, and the fans, participating in the official competition of the BKT Series championship,“ BKT Premia ”, will sanction those that will be implemented at the end of the 2022/2023 season. Each time a fan enters the competition, they will award points in the ranking to their favorite team. Just like in a regular championship, the fans will be involved in making their city win thanks to their participation. As a further demonstration of the link with the Sardinian territory, I am pleased to recall how in December 2020 we sided with the Carlo Enrico Giulini Foundation in support of the "Music and Reading ... we are part of the cure" project for the Microcitemico hospital in Cagliari. We have allowed over 500 patients between 0 and 26 years of age suffering from pathologies to be supported in the various phases of the therapeutic path through techniques such as music therapy and psycho-reading. I am also thinking of the Municipality of Santu Lussurgiu, which was hit by serious fires in August last year. As Lega B we have shown our solidarity, also with concrete initiatives, and donated footballs to the children of the area ».
Do you have a message to send to Sardinian sportsmen?
«I was born in this land and therefore very attached to the values of Sardinia and you can imagine how happy I am to welcome the community of fans of this extraordinary island to our championship. An island that deserves a lot of attention in every area ».
Lorenzo Piras
