Forget Messi and Ronaldo
Football is now a beacon of hope for children from disadvantaged backgrounds in poor nations. Poor nations had an image one of drugs, murder and rampant alcoholism. Today, the place is synonymous with sports like football, Athletics, Cricket.
Slum Soccer a non-profit organization working to improve livelihoods of street dwelling children through football, which partners with the Homeless World Cup Foundation. If selected to the global tournament, recognition and a shot at a better future await these players.
This was the case for 22-year-old Aravind, who represented Tamil Nadu at the Homeless World Cup held earlier this year in Cardiff, the UK. After his World Cup Aravind won a full scholarship to study an MBA program at a college. He struggled to get through an undergraduate degree, but football has helped him sustain his dream of studying further.
Read more: The day that Messi didn't existed
From walking the streets in India, begging for alms with his sister as a seven-year-old, to now looking forward to his month-long stay in Spain alongside the stars of iconic La Liga club Real Madrid, life really took an unimaginable spin for Manikandan.
Likewise, The dream of every African footballer is often to reach Europe championships such as La Premier League (England), La Liga (Spain), la Bundesliga (Germany), la Serie A (Italy) and la Ligue 1 (France).
According to the survey on migration in the world of football.
1. Nigeria the first African country to export the most professional players trained in its fields, with 118 footballers playing in Europe.
2. Second Ghana with 88 players.
3. Third Senegal in Africa to export its players to the professional championships in Europe.
Countries like El Salvador football is more than a sport, is a passion, something you actually live or die for. They have inherited such culture from Argentinian, Chilean and Brazilian players that have left a great impression in our country.
El Salvador used to have great players during the ’60s to the 90’s. But because of their lack of commitment has not allowed them to become into world-class players.
Poor countries have provided great players, sometimes, but their lack of commitment shortens their chances to do better internationally. Government corruption nowadays does not allow poor counties to develop players and it is hard to excel as an individual under those conditions. Corruption is everywhere and football is not exempt from it.
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Category: Football analyses
Tags: Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo