The integrative power of Sports: In Costa Rica, migrant children learn soccer and feel at home again
It’s hard for most people to make friends and find their place in a new hometown. But it’s that much harder when you move to a whole new country.
Four years ago, Juan Diego and his family fled the socio-economic crisis in their native Venezuela and made a new home in Costa Rica — a few of the nearly 40,000 migrants who have made that trek.
Once in his new country, Juan Diego was eager to make friends. He also showed himself to be a smart kid and a team player.
“I knew it was the best thing for me and for my family,” he says of the big move. “I knew that at some point I would no longer feel alone and I would have friends.”
Juan Diego got a boost when he joined the Saprissa Values Soccer School, an initiative of the Saprissa Foundation and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). With dozens of other young people, he’s learning practical skills like dribbling and kicking, and, just as important, people skills that have helped him feel more at home.
The school brings together Costa Rican kids with their migrant peers in three age groups. The school is free of charge.
"We wanted Juan Diego to learn values beyond what we teach him at home,” says Alberto, Juan Diego's father. “Through soccer he has developed his social skills and great leadership aptitudes that I think he would not have done otherwise.”
Juan Diego dreams of becoming the next Keylor Navas, a Costa Rican footballer for the French team PSG, and before that for Spain’s Real Madrid.
“Costa Rica now hosts almost 40,000 Venezuelan migrants,” says Allegra Baiocchi, UN Resident Coordinator in Costa Rica. “And this is just one example of the growth in migration worldwide.”
She points to a UNICEF report published this August, which shows that more children under the age of 18 than ever are on the move, with 35.5 million living outside their country of birth in 2020. This number includes refugees, asylum seekers, and any kind of international migrants.
“Child migrants are especially vulnerable, both in their home countries, on the move, and in the places they migrate to,” Baiocchi adds. The UNICEF report shows how these vulnerabilities differ by gender. “Sport is a terrific way for kids to build confidence, make friends, and learn teamwork. We need that more than ever now.”
Based on a story published in Spanish by the UNCT in Costa Rica and UN News. Written by Danilo Mora Díaz, UN Communications Officer in Costa Rica and Allen Ulloa, IOM Communications Officer, in Costa Rica. Editorial support by Paul VanDeCarr and Carolina Lorenzo, Development Coordination Office. To learn more about the work taking place in Costa Rica, please visit CostaRica.UN.org. To learn more about the results of our work in this area and beyond, please visit the UNSDG Chair Report on DCO.
