Marisa, Paraguay: "Football greatly influenced the girls' lives"
Maria Brown was the coach for Team Paraguay at the Rio 2010 Homeless World Cup. Here are her impressions about how that tournament and football have made a real change to the Paraguayan girls who were involved.
Team Paraguay at the Rio 2010 Homeless World Cup
Photo by Fundacion ParaguayaI was thrilled when I was asked to train the team from the Mbaracayú Girls School who were chosen to represent Paraguay at the Rio 2010 Homeless World Cup in Brazil.
I had heard about the annual international tournament from a friend who had participated in the tournament in Melbourne, Australia. However, I didn't really understand what the event was about until the opening ceremony in Rio when participants from all over the world waved their flags high, chanted their national songs and represented their countries with so much pride.
Our girls couldn't stop smiling that day for it was a first of many things- being outside their country, representing their country as a team, participating in a sports event and being in an environment where cultures, languages, histories and identities from all over the world collided.
Read the complete story here.
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