The CEB and Istituto per il Credito Sportivo sign a € 150 million loan agreement to support sports facilities

Rome – Today, in the presence of Sottosegretario On. Giancarlo Giorgetti, at the Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri, the Vice-Governor for Financial Strategy of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), Mr Carlo Monticelli, and the President of Istituto per il Credito Sportivo (ICS), Mr Andrea Abodi, signed a € 150 million loan agreement to support sports facilities financing in Italy.

The funds provided by the CEB will be directly allocated to the financing of projects put forward by Local Authorities which fall within the scope of “Sport – A Common Mission” and “Municipalities on the Track” campaigns; these will  support construction, purchase of equipment, completion of ongoing investments, energy efficiency savings, restructuring and adjustments of public sport facilities in compliance with relevant regulations, as well as  investments in  cycle paths, velodromes, and associated structures.

This is the first financing agreement concluded by the CEB and ICS to support social development projects. This partnership helps to improve the public’s awareness of the social role of sports and sporting practices as instruments of education, vehicles for inclusion and integration, which contribute to and maintain people’s psychological and physical wellbeing.

CEB Vice-Governor Carlo Monticelli said: “We are pleased to sign this first loan agreement with ICS and thus contribute to the Institute’s mission in support of local authorities throughout Italy. At a time when municipalities, and in particular the small and very small ones, are increasingly slowing down investments, ICS’s subsidised loan programmes select project proposals throughout the national territory with a high social impact and strong local dimension. We look forward to seeing such investments put into practice for the benefit of a wide array of end-users in municipalities across the country.”

 “The financing agreement signed today with the CEB is of enormous significance for the Istituto per il Credito Sportivo and for the entire country - declared the President Andrea Abodi - considering the stringent requirements and selective standards used by an important international player such as the Council of Europe Development Bank. This operation confirms the Institute's ability to deal with complex and sophisticated tools, which allow us to diversify sources of funding and to obtain resources that can be used to ensure particularly favourable conditions and sustainable costs for the development and social growth of sports and cultural infrastructure.”