Founded in 2000, “Futebol na Praça” provides lessons to boys and girls aged seven to 18
A social initiative that teaches soccer to underprivileged children. This is the mission of “Futebol na Praça,” which, in partnership with the Central Única de Favelas (CUFA), has been able to offer various opportunities for students from the Jardim Guanabara neighborhoods 1, 2, and 3 to showcase their talents.
Founded in 2000 as the “Grupo Essência” by Carlos Antonio de Almeida, known as Carlos Tony Cerimonial due to his profession, the project takes place in Jardim Guanabara 3, in Goiânia, Goiás.
“At the time, I was involved in activities at the church I attended, directed toward young people and adults, for the youth group’s theatre, and soon after, I also organized couples’ meetings. I loved sports and dancing in a ‘quadrilha junina’ (a traditional Brazilian dance). In the meantime, I realized that I could do a bit more, like developing sports activities with the children, for example. And that’s how the ‘Grupo Essência’ was created at the time, which held theatre workshops, organized ‘quadrilha junina’ groups, and male and female soccer teams for adults and children,” says Carlos Tony.
He stopped in 2006 due to a lack of support and sponsorship, but the main reason was that, at the time, he worked on Saturdays, and since the project operated on weekends, the situation became unfeasible. Carlos returned in 2014 with the aim of training his children, Caio, six years old, and Maria Elisa, four years old. Within 20 days, the number of students jumped to 25, and the project became known as “Futebol na Praça.”
Today, training sessions take place on a dirt field, nicknamed “Arena Barradão,” where games and friendlies are also held. The project provides soccer lessons for 84 boys and girls aged seven to 18, offering activities twice a week. However, to make it less tiring, Carlos plans to increase the frequency of activities to every day, with the possibility of dividing the groups and investing more time with each category.
In 2022, the project participated in the “Taça das Favelas” with the male team, which finished 14th out of 80 teams, and the female team, which finished 6th out of 19 teams.
Among the soccer events where “Futebol na Praça” students have the opportunity to showcase their talents are: “Taça da Favelas Masculino,” “Taça das Favelas Feminino,” “Seleção da Periferia CUFA Sub13,” “Adidas CUFA,” “Top CUFA Seleção Goiana da Taça das Favelas,” and there have also been recommendations for the youth teams of Campineira, Atlético Goiano, and Vila Nova.
The project’s biggest challenge is the same faced by all social initiatives without sponsorship and government support: a lack of funding. The activities carried out have survived only with the support of a city councilor, Sargento Novandir, who, according to Carlos, “helps as much as he can.” Guiding the children is another challenge, making it possible to transform their lives and the lives of their families through one of the most lucrative professions in the world. Carlos also talks about victories, such as achievements in the “Taça das Favelas” and the “Favelão Nacional,” where the representative Johanna (Djorrana) will represent the project on the women’s national team. Another significant victory is that two of the students have already become professionals: Maycon Valeriano and Johanna.
The project is essentially carried out by Carlos but has direct support from some friends and volunteers, such as Givanildo, better known as Givas, Dona Antônia, and Welton, as well as some parents of students.
“And that’s how we keep going. We’re working on registering the ‘Projeto Futebol na Praça’ and, in this way, hopefully, we can get more support and sponsorship,” concludes Carlos Tony.
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To learn more about “Futebol na Praça,” visit the Futebol na Praça website.
Contact: [email protected] and phone +55 (62) 992724197
Social media: Instagram
