CAF and UNICEF train sports coaches from Peru and Bolivia

A total of 22 coaches from the Cantolao Sports Academy in Peru and 20 from the Soccer Academy Tahuichi Aguilera in Bolivia will benefit from the on-line training workshop, organized jointly by the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the SOMOS Program, a sports network for the development of Latin America. CAF seeks to promote this sports initiative as an effective instrument for the construction of human competencies in children and youths who are socially vulnerable. 

The training will be provided through an educational on-line program "Educar por el Fútbol - Mi equipo es nota 10" (Educate for soccer - My team scores 10), directed by UNICEF jointly with the Universidad de Fútbol of Brazil with the strategic support of CAF and the FC Barcelona Foundation.

During the inauguration of the respective training sessions carried out in Lima and Santa Cruz, the teaching teams for both the Cantolao and Tahuichi academies received an introductory presentation about the on-line course from Rodrigo Fonseca and Eduardo Conde Tega, representatives of UNICEF and the Universidad del Fútbol of Brasil, respectively, to provide details on the program in addition to the competencies required by it. 

Silvia Oteyza, CAF's Director of the Direction of Social Sustainability, expressed, "We know that there are children and youths that pursue a more rigorous training in the area of sports, either because they have a special talent, or because they see in sports a way out of their vulnerable condition. These children are exposed to risks such as early professionalization, school drop-outs, violence, and abuse, among others. Therefore, the objective of this course is precisely to train sports coaches to mitigate those risks and continue promoting soccer as an instrument for development and social inclusion". 

She also explained that this pilot training course includes 60 hours of distance training, at the end of which the participants from the Cantolao and Tahuichi academies, who satisfactorily pass the training modules, will receive an official certificate. 

Oteyza noted, "based on the results of this pilot plan we will promote the inclusion of a greater number of organizations in the future, seeking to train more coaches".