Atalanta For Special, the 2025/26 season breakdown

Another season has come to an end for Atalanta For Special. Reflecting on the campaign is head coach and project coordinator Gianmario Lesmo.

"It has been an extraordinary season, not so much because of the sporting results, but because of what we have built together. Our second-level team once again proved its quality at the highest levels of paralympic football, coming close to significant achievements. The third-level team stepped up to a higher category, experiencing a journey of growth marked by both challenges and progress. The fourth-level team embodied the true spirit of the project, ensuring opportunities and playing time for everyone. The most important result is that no one was left behind. Football was, first and foremost, an educational tool. We saw our players grow in independence, responsibility and their ability to be part of a group, learning how to face both victories and defeats together. Atalanta For Special continues to be an educational community, built by players, families, coaches, volunteers and Atalanta BC, united by the belief that sport is a right and an opportunity for everyone".

Over the years, the project has grown steadily, expanding from a single team to its current structure of three squads plus a youth academy.

"This growth is fundamental because it confirms that the project responds to a real need within the local community and among families. When we started, we had a dream: to show that young people with disabilities could experience football with dignity, clear rules and the same opportunities as everyone else. Today, seeing three active teams and a structured youth academy means that dream has become a reality. The growth has been qualitative above all: having more teams allows us to offer tailored pathways, personalised objectives and a meaningful role for every player. The youth academy, in particular, represents the foundation of the project, accompanying children from their earliest years and ensuring continuity over time. Growth, however, is not an achievement to celebrate and move beyond, but a responsibility: to continue creating opportunities for the young people of today and tomorrow".

Lesmo also outlined the project's future direction.

"The future of Atalanta For Special remains closely linked to our educational identity and our focus on the individual. For this reason, starting next season, we have chosen not to compete in the second-level championship. In recent years we have noticed an increasing emphasis on sporting performance, whereas our priority remains the personal growth of each participant through sport. As a result, the 2026/27 season will feature two third-level teams and two fourth-level teams, with the aim of providing more playing opportunities, more minutes on the pitch and pathways better suited to the needs of each athlete. We believe that playing, making mistakes and sharing the field with others is more important than any league table. We are also developing new initiatives across the region, including educational programmes on inclusion for sports clubs and projects aimed at supporting people in vulnerable situations. It is an evolving vision that reflects a clear direction: not to grow in numbers or results, but in our ability to generate educational, social and cultural value. The goal remains the same as it has been since 2010: to build a community in which every person can find opportunities, relationships and dignity".