All you need is a ball

Youths practice in La Carpio, a San Jose neighborhood with a large concentration of Nicaraguan immigrants.


You play with one shoe. You play in socks. You play in bare feet. Doesn't matter. In Costa Rica, like everywhere else in Latin America, you play soccer. Everyone can play, even in the poorest communities - all you need is a ball.

Five years ago, ILCO created Futbol por la Vida, or Soccer for Life, to help at-risk children and youth in Costa Rica. The program took off: now, Futbol por la Vida is a separate foundation, and boasts five soccer schools for kids aged 8 to 18.

Although Futbol por la Vida offers kids training with professionals, communications director Andres says that the soccer part is just the gimmick. The trick. With soccer as the backdrop, a team of social workers can help open the hearts of the youths, and their parents, to work for greater change.

Social workers like Silvia are on site at every Futbol por la Vida practice. Her work isn't always obvious - but after awhile, you notice kids stopping by to chat with her, perhaps relating a problem at home or at school. Silvia can work in crisis intervention, if needed. But she also helps shape the values that originate from play - training and practice mimics the homework and studying the kids need to do buck a national trend and finish school. A captain system, with the captain elected by his or her team members, mimics a democratic system - the biggest and strongest kids have the same vote as the smallest ones. Integrated girls and boys team help break down gender stereotypes. And Futbol por la Vida-sponsored workshops, with topics on AIDS, violence, drugs, conflict resolution, and values (to name a few), are offered off the field.

In the beginning years, Andres says, it seemed all the Futbol por la Vida teams lost their games against other local leagues. He couldn't figure out why: the kids were playing well in practices. Eventually, he figured it out - once the teams fell behind, they gave up. The kids aren't used to fighting, he says. Just gave up hope.

Perhaps it's no wonder, Andres says, given the lack of hope for the future in their families and communities. The question, then, is whether these kids can develop their own future. Futbol por la Vida is trying to do its part: the kids are asked to help organize events, suggest topics for workshops, and work together. Hopefully, they'll carry those experiences with them in their own lives, and back to their communities.