Roma has today announced that it will dedicate its first home match in front of fans after football returns to honouring and celebrating the medical workers who have been on the frontline of the battle against Covid-19.
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In an extension of the club’s ‘HEROES’ series on social media, which pays tribute to individual doctors, nurses and medics in Italy and around the world, Roma will:
Make up to 5,000 tickets available free to medical workers for the first ‘open’ home game after football returns to allow fans to show their appreciation for the selfless efforts of the medics during this crisis
Honour the medical workers in Italy who have lost their lives during this crisis
Donate a proportion of every ticket sold for the game to the club’s Covid-19 fundraising campaign to buy hospital equipment and medical supplies in Rome
Commit to introducing a special new reduced ticket price rate for medical workers from the beginning of next season
At the time of writing, over 51 medical workers have died in Italy due to the coronavirus, while many more have died in Iran, China, Indonesia and other countries.
Thousands more medical workers in Italy and around the world have also contracted the virus through their work.
Two weeks ago, the club launched a fundraising campaign to buy urgent medical supplies and equipment for hospitals in the Italian capital dealing with the coronavirus crisis. Over €530,000 has already been raised – including a day’s wages donated by Roma’s players and technical staff – and some of the money has already been used to pay for eight new ventilators and eight new intensive care beds for Lazzaro Spallanzani Hospital in Rome.
Thousands of masks, protective gloves and bottles of hand sanitizer have also been distributed to hospitals and other institutions in the city.
Last Sunday, after it was announced that an 18th doctor had died of Covid-19 in Italy, Roma launched a digital series called ‘HEROES’ that was designed to highlight the real heroes of the moment – the doctors, nurses and medics working under extreme pressure in this moment.
“It is impossible to overstate just how much we appreciate the work of the medical staff in Italy and around the world,” said AS Roma president Jim Pallotta, who today donated €25,000 to the project, on top of the personal donation of €50,000 he made to launch club’s Covid-19 fundraising project.
“The ‘HEROES’ series has been an opportunity for both the club and our fans to show our appreciation for these medical workers on social media and now we want to do the same thing in real life at the Stadio Olimpico, as soon as football returns and fans are allowed back into stadiums.
“We want to pay a special tribute to those medical workers who have tragically lost their lives and celebrate the absolute heroes who continue to put others before themselves to save lives each day.”
Up to five thousand free tickets will be made available to medical workers to attend the game as special guests of AS Roma for the ‘HEROES’ tribute, while the club will also honour those who have passed away.
The medics who have featured online in the ‘HEROES’ series will also be celebrated.
The club is already working on introducing a new concessionary ticket rate for medical workers in Rome next season – to demonstrate that their selfless work keeping us healthy is appreciated year-round, and not just in times of crisis.
More details about AS Roma’s ‘HEROES’ tribute match will be communicated when it becomes clear when football in Italy will resume and fans will be allowed back in stadiums.
