On the Road - XVIII

Kids from the Morro de Samba join in the game during our on location community project Beija-Flor na Comunidade.

Football needs little explanation in a country like Brazil, where just about every young, underprivileged boy’s dream is to become the new Pelé or Ronaldo. Unfortunately many of them see it as a glamorous way out of poverty but extremely few of them will ever reach that goal, and the drive to fame and fortune can be a painful one if youngsters are not well enough prepared to face the unknown world they dream of entering.

Football is not only a great national and international sport, it's also a “way of life” for most Brazilians, beginning from early childhood. Our main objectives for football at Hummingbird are not to discover and form football stars, but rather to promote corporal skills, spacial and bodily awareness, integration, teamwork, concentration and discipline, and to cultivate a competitive spirit.
All such concepts being essential for social interaction, living together and fortifying personal health care.

The Magglingen Declaration on Sport and Development states that local sports is the ideal place for bringing people together and it can help overcome barriers of race, religion, gender, disability and social background.

We have more than 150 kids in five different categories in Hummingbird F.C. and our club is a member of the regional football league.
Thanks to a Norwegian supporter, six of our talented youth had the opportunity to travel to Spain and Norway this year, to participate in a 3-month football-training course at a privately owned school. Today, these youngsters are multiplying their newly gained knowledge with other kids at Hummingbird F.C.