A/HRC/4/19/Add.4 page 16 sports, civil society highlighted the fact that some internal regulations of various sport federations had not been yet harmonized with LD 286/98. As a consequence non-EU children are not allowed to join official competitions at the amateur and pre-professional levels (from 13 to 17 years old). Civil society also felt that the National Federation of Football should be more proactive in raising awareness within the local federations on the existing and new legislation adopted to combat racism in sports. B. Legislation on and policies regarding Roma and Sinti 34. Roma and Sinti began to settle in Italy in the fifteenth century. The Sinti are thought to have come overland from the north and settled in the north of Italy, while the Roma crossed the Adriatic Sea from the southern Balkan areas and settled mainly in the south. These communities are generally referred to as “zingari” a term which carries negative connotations associated with dirtiness, or “nomads”, the latter reflecting the still prevailing belief in their nomadic nature. Yet, only a small percentage of Sinti engage in economic activities entailing an itinerant lifestyle, and most of the Italian Roma are sedentary.26 NGOs estimate that there are approximately 550,000 Roma and Sinti in Italy, of whom the largest group are foreign Roma citizens, mainly from Romania and the former Yugoslavia. 35. During his visit, the Special Rapporteur visited a Romani community located in a temporary camp in “Viale dello Scalo Tiburtino” and a Sinti community in “Via Tommaso Smith in Casalbruciato” near Rome. 36. The Romani community was composed of around 250 Romanian Roma, 60 per cent of them children. They had been living for the past two years in an unoccupied building till they were evicted in September 2006. The community expressed their discontent about poor living conditions and the lack of assistance from the authorities. The Special Rapporteur witnessed their lack of access to drinking water and electricity as well as the inadequate conditions of their improvised “houses” made with plastic, aluminium sheets and wood, with earth floors. Roma representatives complained that the consequences of living under difficult hygienic conditions nurtured the already existing prejudices against them. They explained that the children were being rejected in nearby schools, allegedly because of “too many foreign children”. The Special Rapporteur was informed that negotiations to solve this problem were ongoing with the Ministry of Education. 37. The Sinti community was composed of 40-50 members of whom 8 were children regularly attending school. All members of this community had been born in Italy, had Italian nationality, spoke Italian and described themselves as being integrated with their non-Sinti neighbours, who, unlike the Italian Sinti, lived in regular buildings surrounding their caravan camp. The representatives explained that they had received an eviction order without an alternative location and expressed their strong opposition to the announced measure, in particular as it would lead to the disruption of their children’s school attendance. Despite their legal status, they identified unemployment as the major problem, particularly due to their difficulties in accessing jobs outside the recreational sector, which was in crisis. 26 Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Report on the Political Participation and Media Representation of Roma and Sinti in Italy, p. 6.