Hoy, Millones de fanáticos de todos los rincones del mundo disfrutarán de una de las ocasiones más esperadas para provocar un frenesí en las masas cada cuatro años..
Las calles de Brasil se cubrirán de amarillo y verde, batucadas y berimbaus Estará jugando, los corazones latirán más rápido, se pintarán caras, ondearán banderas y carteles y los colores nacionales se lucirán con orgullo.
El sonido de un silbido enviará 22 Hombres en un campo corriendo y luchando para enviar una pelota a un 7.32 metros de ancho por 2.44 metros de altura netos. La ciudad más moderna y cosmopolita de Brasil, Sao Paulo, será sede de la tan esperada Copa Mundial de la FIFA, con el primer partido, entre el equipo local Brasil y Croacia, el jueves, Junio 12.
Fútbol (fútbol), “el hermoso juego,"se considera el deporte más popular globalmente. El juego toca cuestiones de nacionalismo e identidad.; una experiencia humana común compartida por espectadores de muchas culturas.
That’s one reason fútbol is also used as a tool for working with at-risk youth in some of Creative’s projects in Central America.
«Values through Soccer» is one of Creative’s tools to prevent violence at the community level. Most Central American kids love soccer so it this an ideal tool to captivate youth attention, and teach values while providing training, uniforms and soccer balls. Through this program, youth learn how to be a team player, how to resolve conflict, y lo más importante, they learn values that will stay with them as they grow up.
En Panamá, el Alcance Positivo program and its partners saw sports as a key vehicle for violence prevention activities. It worked with the Ministry of Public Security to develop sports leagues where community police coached and played with kids from vulnerable neighborhoods. Soccer was a way of reaching out to these kids and really getting to know them.
The Ministry-trained sports staff even went to kids’ homes on non-soccer days to find out more about their lives and their problems.
Alcance Positivo also organized a competition called “Mundialito de Barrios" (Little World Cup of Neighborhoods), a three-month tournament that engaged 6,000 youth in sports and development. It had a real impact: 83 percent of youth who participated reported improved respect of rules/norms and 58 percent of them reported less violent conduct.
In fact Youth Outreach Centers that serve as safe spaces for youth all over Central America use fútbol to present kids with an alternative to joining violent gangs.
“Estos centros son santuarios para los niños donde pueden jugar y aprender con seguridad.," stated U.S. Embajadora en Honduras Lisa Kubiske.
Research has shown us that youth who participate in sports have improved relationships with their families; are more respectful of rules and norms, persevere more in their work; and are less violent.
Fútbol gives at-risk kids like those Creative worked with in Panama exposure to people they might not encounter otherwise. It gives them a sense of belonging. And it provides them with positive alternatives: choosing a ball over a gun; a team over a gang and life over death.
While thousands of at-risk youth continue to benefit from “the beautiful game,” they will not be alone. They are only some of the millions who will forget, at least as they watch the World Cup, about their difficulties and worries.
This World Cup is the perfect time to send a clear message to the world: fútbol is more than just a game.