Fragile dream. Hope and football on the streets of Rio

Description

Rio de Janeiro. A city of extremes and contrasts, unified by one common passion: football. In Brazil, everyone knows that the best football players come from the favelas. Football represents an escape from the violent world of drugs, guns and gangs. But the gangs who rule the favelas are eager to recruit children, who can't be sent to jail if they are caught committing crimes. Now some former professional footballers are trying to turn their favelas around through football. Former Brazil legend, Jorginho, has set up a football school in one of Brazil's most deprived neighborhoods. 'We use football as a tool to educate boys. We give them positive information so that they can change their way of thinking or living." But even the few boys who go on to secure professional contracts find it hard to leave behind the everyday problems of growing up in the favelas. Josimar represented Brazil in the 1986 World Cup and was once regarded as one of the world's best rightbacks. But he found the pressure of fame hard to cope with and felt trapped by his past. His brother was murdered by a drug gang and he was arrested for cocaine possession, assaulting a prostitute and policemen and stealing a car.

Runtime

49 min

Subjects

Geography

Genre

Date of Publication

2011

Database

Alexander Street

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