Juruá’s soccer schools fight to keep the hope of hundreds of young people alive

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In makeshift fields, with spent balls, torn nets and a lot of desire to win, nearly 1,000 young people from Cruzeiro do Sul and municipalities of the Juruá region continue to feed the same dream: being protagonists inside and outside the four lines. They participate in 18 soccer schools that mostly and voluntarily work without any financial or structural support from the public power.

To strengthen these initiatives, the project “New Football Cruzeirense – forming young protagonists” was born, with the objective of offering better training conditions and taking children and adolescents out of social vulnerability through sports. According to José Gomes, representative of the schools in the Municipal Sports Council, the social work, which already has more than 20 years of operation, today faces serious difficulties, especially due to lack of basic materials and logistics support.

Currently, more than a thousand children and adolescents are attended to the schools, but many are at risk of ending their activities. Gomes reports that, even with letters sent to City Hall since the beginning of the current management, requests have been ignored. An example was the request for the use of the Juruá Arena, with the objective of holding a competition with about 250 young people, which until today had no response.

“Teachers’ time is already donated. But without material, transportation or minimal support, it is becoming increasingly difficult to continue,” says Gomes. He also remembers the positive impact of the F10 project, one of the most prominent initiatives, which has been working on the city’s physical, social and emotional formation for over seven years.

Even with poor structure, the schools have already helped turn many lives and reveal local talents. In several cases, coaches even bear transportation and feeding of the athletes of their own pockets, such a dedication to the project.

While looking for financing alternatives, such as the collection of funds with the parking lot of Expoacre Juruá, training continues to happen with much effort and hope. For young people like Edson, 14, each day in the field represents more than a workout, is the chance to dream of a different future.
“This is where I can learn and dream of football, make mistakes and improve, always with the guidance of teachers,” says the teenager.

The coordination of “New Cruzeirense Football” appeals to civil society, private initiative and especially the public power to recognize the social value of these activities. The project points out that investing in sport is to invest in the prevention of crime, education, health and the construction of a more worthy future for the Juruá Valley.