The 13th edition of the Master’s degree in Sport Business Strategies (SBS), first established in 2005 through a joint venture between Verde Sport, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia and Ca’ Foscari Challenge School, was hosted in the striking setting of the Italian National Olympic Committee’s (CONI) Chamber of Ceremonies on 6th June: 38 students graduated and are now ready to enter the Italian and international sports industry.
They did so by giving an emotional welcometo Giorgio Squinzi, the guest of honour, who – together with the Olympic ski champion Sofia Goggia – was awarded a Diploma for Sporting Merit by SBS for their contribution and success in the world of sport.
The reasons why this prize was awarded lie way back in the past, because Mapei has always been committed to the world of sport and sports facilities: a passion that began with cycling – handed down by the company’s original founder, Rodolfo Squinzi – and went on to embrace football and other sports (basketball, volleyball, golf, and many others).
“I am truly honoured to receive this Diploma – so Mapei’s CEO announced – I got my passion for sport from my father, the founder of our Group and a cyclist as a young man, and it was only natural that sport should be lived and breathed in our home. And it was equally natural for me to translate this passion into something that has significant social repercussions: I am, of course, talking about Sassuolo Calcio, a way of giving something back to an area that has given so much to Mapei over the decades”.
The prize awarded to Giorgio Squinzi provides the chance to point out just how much sport really is part of Mapei’s DNA. The Mapei Group owned a world-class profes- sional cycling team from 1993 to the end of the 2002 season, which won a total of 654 races, including 4 Road World Cycling Championships, 4 individual World Cups, 1 Giro d’Italia and 1 Vuelta a España, 5 Team World Cups, and lots of great international classics. Subsequently, Mapei has supported youth teams and has been the UCI Main Event Sponsor for the Road World Cycling Championships for over 10 years.
After an initial period of sponsorship from 1988 to 1991, Mapei began sponsoring Sassuolo football team again in 2002 and in just 10 years Sassuolo managed to rise up from the Italian Serie C to qualify for the Europa League. As well as the football team, there is also Mapei Stadium in Reggio Emilia. After undergoing re- development work and improvements to reach the standards requested by the Serie A League and UEFA, it now hosts some of the most important international football competitions. Mapei also promotes proper sporting culture and ethics through the Mapei Sports Research Centre for research that offers highly qualified support for achieving top-class sporting performance and for helping anybody interested to improve their physical efficiency. It was Giorgio Squinzi who first commissioned the centre in 1996 in perfect sporting-ethical harmony with its co-founder Aldo Sassi, to promote the right ethical approach for Mapei Professional Cycling Team, and over the years Mapei Sport has gradually widened its horizons to embrace other sports as well cycling.
Last but not least, Mapei is also involved in the realm of sports facilities and is now considered to be the main technical partner for coming up with the best solutions for installing any kind of sports surface: from the preparation of substrates to the application of playing surfaces, always paying special attention to comfort, durability, appearance and safety. Intense and authentic passions underscoring a desire to keep on achieving new goals. Widely acknowledged (and often award-winning) passions that pulsate through the veins of both Giorgio Squinzi and the whole of Mapei.
