Premier League sides could learn from this Serie A club’s community initiative

It would be very difficult to grow up in Bergamo and not support Atalanta

While the nearby Milan has the giants AC Milan and Inter Milan, Bergamo has Atalanta. Now, the Serie A side who play in blue and black are by no means the most successful side in the north of Italy; their only trophy came in 1963 (the Coppa Italia) and they played in Serie B as recently as the 2009/2010 season. They are a famous club in their home country though, and are known as "Regina delle provinciali" (queen of the provincial clubs) due to the fact that historically they are by far the most consistent of Italy's non-metropolitan sides. Recently it has emerged that the club have actually given the people of Bergamo another reason to support them, in the form of a scheme known as Project Baby Atalanta which sees them send a replica shirt to every newborn baby in the city. As well as the shirt, the club also sends out some Atalanta-branded milk cartons for either girls or boys who have recently been born. The scheme, which has already gone viral online, puts into stark contrast the efforts of most Premier League clubs, fans of which widely believe are moving further and further away from their community roots. While it is natural that nouveau riche sides from the wealthiest league in the world will understandably begin to look at their fanbase on an international level, Atalanta's project goes to show that it's also worth taking care of the fans who fill your stadium today and those who will likely fill it for years to come. https://twitter.com/Atalanta_BC/status/1035102966825607173