June 9, 2001
Brazilian girls shine at soccer in the U.S.
Every soccer athlete
in Brazil dream in becoming famous and one day playing abroad. For two
young girls, this dream is became a reality earlier than they ever imagined,
especially when they are girls playing soccer in a country that does not
offer much incentive for them.
The United Sports Foundation, based in Pensylvania, USA, and connected to US Soccer, provided these two young girls, Mariana Neves de Luca, 10 years old, from Rio de Janeiro and Joice Soares da Silva, 12 years old, from Sao Paulo, 2 weeks full of soccer and cultural tourism, staying in the best local hotels, and taking part in training and games with the best teams in the US, a country that presents the best women's soccer in the world.
It's very important
to say that the athletes had all expenses paid by the organization. Apart
from the Brazilians, boys and girls, up to the age of 13 years old, took
part the program. They were from the USA, England, Holland, Wales, Sweden,
Nigeria, Japan and Ireland. The representatives from China and Russia
had problems with their visas and unfortunately couldn't
take part.
The program, called
"International Ambassadors", was in place for the first time and their
main aim was:
-Technical training;
-Games;
-Exchange of athletes from different countries;
-Show a bit of their country history and culture.
-And most of all, educate through soccer.
The girls also visited many places such as the Pennsylvania Museum of Arts, Benjamin Franklin's Institute, in Washington, New Jersey's Aquarium and NASA's Museum. One of their best moments of the trip was to Washington Freedom's professional women's team, where Mia Hamm plays, the biggest star in North-America, and the Brazilians Roseli and Pretinha. For Joice and Mariana, this was an emotional moment, where they could see proof of the hard work of two young women that now have great success in the USA.
The young athletes went to the USA accompanied by Alexandre Mathias, Coordinator for BRUSA International Soccer Institute, based in Pensacola/US. Alexandre, who has worked along Sao Cristovao and Flamengo, also participated in the program, taking part in the trainings and also at a conference speaking about the Brazilian soccer, both for men and women. With this program, Alexandre, Joice and Mariana became International Ambassadors of the United Sports Foundation in South America, and now they hope to open door for other boys and girls, also alerting clubs and federations in Brazil that all the world is investing and growing in soccer.
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