Naples is trying a team approach to revive its parish oratories through sport. At the Stadio Arturo Collana, the Curia, CONI Campania and FIGC Campania presented two protocols intended to promote sport as an instrument of education, social inclusion, health, legality and local development.
The initiative involved Archbishop Mimmo Battaglia alongside the regional leadership of Italy's Olympic committee and football federation. According to Il Mattino, the agreements focus on spreading sports culture rather than on competitive results alone.
Two agreements, one direction
Two protocols were signed. Their stated aims are broad: education, social inclusion, health, legality and territorial development through sport.
The full text, duration, funding arrangements and operational commitments of the two protocols were not made public in the material available for this article. What is documented is the institutional direction: the Naples initiative fits a wider emphasis on using oratories and sport as community-based educational spaces.
A possible diocesan tournament
FIGC Campania president Carmine Zigarelli raised the possibility of a diocesan "mundialito" involving parishes. He also proposed further sports projects, including beach soccer or five-a-side football near Naples Cathedral.
It is not yet clear whether the proposed tournament and facilities have been formally approved or scheduled. The available sources also do not establish which Naples parishes or oratories would take part.
National funding for oratory projects in 2026
For readers following what happens next, useful context comes from the Italian Department for Sport. Its 2026 public notice for oratory projects allocates 6.5 million euros for educational, cultural and sporting projects, including measures against youth marginalisation.
Eligible applicants include parishes, third-sector organisations, former ONLUS organisations and ecclesiastical entities. The notice gives priority to projects involving minors and people with disabilities, as well as initiatives addressing stereotypes, discrimination and violence.
This does not confirm how the Naples protocols will be financed. It does show the national framework currently available to oratory projects that combine sport, education and inclusion.
A Campania precedent: the Quarto oratory
There is also a Campania precedent for this kind of work. CONI has described a project at an oratory in Quarto that used sport as an educational and social-inclusion tool, including the renovation of a football pitch.
That example dates from 2019. It demonstrates precedent rather than confirming implementation of the 2026 Naples protocols, but it indicates the practical form such cooperation has taken before: sports activities combined with improved facilities.
What to watch
The Collana presentation sets the intention. The next concrete steps to watch are publication of the protocol texts, the list of participating parishes and oratories, and any formal decision on the proposed diocesan tournament and facilities near the Cathedral.