Palermo Football Club Joins International Twinning Project at Malaspina Juvenile Penal Institute
Palermo Football Club has joined the Twinning Project, an international rehabilitation program that pairs professional football clubs with local correctional facilities to support the personal development and social reintegration of young detainees. The initiative is supported by Enel Cuore, the philanthropic entity of the Enel Group.
The program at the Malaspina Juvenile Penal Institute runs weekly on Fridays from October 2 to December 18. Qualified youth sector coaches from the club lead the activities for the young detainees. Participants receive basic training to become football coaches alongside instruction in transferable skills such as communication, teamwork, leadership, conflict management, and self-reflection.
Upon completing the curriculum, participants earn a final diploma designed to help them secure future employment and integrate back into the community. The project forms part of Palermo’s broader social responsibility strategy to use football as a catalyst for local change.
Founded in the United Kingdom in 2018, the Twinning Project has already paired 73 professional English clubs with prisons. Independent studies on the program’s impact are underway at academic institutions including the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in the United States.
Following international expansion supported by FIFA starting in 2023, the program operates in countries including the United States, South Africa, Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Singapore, Uruguay, and Japan. In 2026, with backing from Enel Cuore, Twinning Project ETS President Sasha Fugazzola introduced the initiative to five Italian cities, partnering local football clubs with youth and adult correctional facilities.