In order
to be truly successful, one must be radical and extreme at times. In the case
of Brazil, the decision was made long ago to become a world renowned force in
the world of football. This goal is obviously quite a difficult task to achieve,
meaning a number of sacrifices needed to be made in order to improve and
maintain this status. This is especially the case with Brazil as the country
has not yet become first world status, limiting the resources and funds
available in comparison to countries such as Germany, The United States,
France, etc. That being said, football is still quite obviously one of the most
invested industries in Brazil, both with time and most importantly, finances...
I
implore you to keep this idea in the back of your mind as you continue reading
this article.
So how does Brazil create such a vast pool of talent in the
world of football? The answer lies mainly in the development of youth through a
multitude of training academies and facilities. These are primarily operated
and funded by immensely popular football clubs such as Atletico Paranense and
Coritiba. The fact that Brazil is currently one of the top exporters of high
class football players in the world, exporting 1443 players into worldwide
professional leagues in 2013 alone according to BBC (link below), simply shows
how effective these training programs are at perfecting the talent of its youth.
These organizations are able to do this through the use of extensive scouting
strategies, utilizing immaculate training facilities, housing/accommodation
centres, highly qualified coaches, and more in order to enhance the skills of
the chosen players.
Another
key to the success of Brazilian football is the source of the talent in the first
place; the youth. However, it is not simply any children that make up these
programs, but specifically children from less affluent backgrounds (aka. Favelas
and other poorer neighborhoods).These children are sought after simply due to
the amazing quantity available and their willingness to participate in the
programs as they provide a ticket out of the life of favelas and a shot at
being successful. As Paul R. Ford, et al. explains, through the use of soccer
specific play, practice, and competition beginning at an early age, Brazil has
been able to create very skillful players. “Players who accumulate relatively high
amounts of hours in soccer-speciļ¬c play activity during childhood have been
shown to possess superior decision making, higher levels of attainment and
possibly increased positive motivation” (Paul R. Ford, et al.). This is exactly
the tactic used by these prestigious training academies.
So let’s
back track a little bit. This goal of world renowned football is requiring a
huge amount of funds in order to be so successful...
So what
is the country losing as a result of pursuing this goal? Primarily the overall
wellbeing of the very citizens that give Brazil its amazing football prestige;
the less affluent children and families that are sought after. By investing so
much time and money into the development of the football industry, a lot of
resources are therefore being directed away from bettering the lives of the
majority of these individuals, for example the construction of proper homes,
proper education, etc. This has been going on for so long that not only has
football made up a very significant amount of the Brazilian economy, but also
has played a major part in modern Brazilian culture and identity.
The World
Cup is simply a manifestation of the massive football investment that Brazil
has been involved in for decades, attempting to have "A Selecao" (a nickname of their national team translated to be "The Selection") win their sixth World Cup title
and get a large payoff for their decades of dedicated work and. By doing so, less
affluent communities are in turn being severely harmed by things such as
relocation in order to make room for new highways, stadiums, etc, and the
severe limiting of these families’ potential income as FIFA has placed many
restrictions on products available for sale during the World Cup.
Over
time, football has become so engrained in Brazilian culture that by focusing on
improving the lives of the less affluent, Brazil will in turn lose its world
renowned soccer prestige as the soul of the industry will deteriorate. So
Brazil, it is decision time. Possibly better the lives of millions of citizens
or maintain a prestigious football title?
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