European Parliament
Claudio Morganti  (EFD ).
(IT)
Madam President, sport is probably the greatest vehicle that Europe has for bringing people together, and accessibility to participation in sport must be guaranteed for everyone, especially people with learning difficulties or physical disabilities.
Similarly, it is unacceptable that young girls are prohibited, for example, from being able to take up some disciplines, as we know, due to religious strictures imposed by their parents. The rapporteur has done well to highlight this point, since sport must be free to affirm universal values and Europe cannot tolerate these practices out of false religious do-goodism.
Moreover, I believe it is right to preserve and rediscover local, traditional and indigenous sports. In Tuscany, we in
Lega Nord
are fighting in this regard to protect a historic form of football played in Florentine costume and to rediscover the ancient game of football
palla grossa
) in Prato. These also represent genuine manifestations of history and culture which we should develop and encourage, especially among the young.

