Cup of Peace girls & young women football tournament
For the girls and young women who took part in this Cup of Peace (Copa de Paz) football tournament in Granada on 15 September it was about much more than football. The girls from one of the participating teams (see above) have written on their banner what it means to them: respect, love, friendship, and (mutual) support.
Twenty – four teams of girls and young women competed in the tournament organised by Futbol sin Fronteras (Soccer without Borders). The Bristol Link with Nicaragua (BLINC),who have their very own football tournament Copa Sandino every May, contributed US$500 towards the cost.
In Granada in Nicaragua 15 September one of the competing teams with their coach….
In Bristol Copa Sandino tournament in May 2023. As well as a fiercely contested tournament BLINC raised funds for projects in their Nicaragua twin town, Puerto Morazan, and for the Copa de Paz in Granada.
With the popularity of football among women and girls growing globally, Nicaragua is no exception.
Since 2008 Soccer without Borders (SWB) has been working in Nicaragua ‘breaking barriers in sport and beyond’ through providing leagues, clinics, community events and academic support in their youth centre in Granada. The impact of the programmes is felt not only at grassroots and community levels but also in resurgence of Granada FC, a women’s club competing in La Nicaragua Liga Segunda División Femenina (the Nicaragua Second Division Women’s League).
SWB also organises football camps and coaching clinics in different parts of Nicaragua and also in Barranquilla, Colombia.
‘I don’t know what type of person I would be if Soccer Without Borders weren’t a part of my life. I feel its influence has formed me to be who I am. To be a part of the leadership team, to feel the desire to help, to be with the girls in the programme, to share with them, to listen to their desires and dreams. Soccer Without Borders hasn’t changed my life, it has formed my life.‘ Natalia, SWB Nicaragua graduate”
“For girls who do not have opportunities such as education and recreation through sports, my goal is to bring them joy and fun, give them tools to empower themselves as women, rid them of the machismo with which I have struggled for many years, [and to show them] that they are capable of everything.” Coach Francisca Alvarez, a graduate of the SWB leadership programme
The following video is a powerful testimony to the ways in which the girls and women themselves with the support of SWB are overcoming the barriers of a sport traditionally dominated by men.
Further information: https://www.soccerwithoutborders.org/