From Flute To Football
Ysabella Quintero, Panama
In Panama, UNHCR works with partner Fútbol con Corazón (FCC) to promote the inclusion of refugee children and youth as well as to strengthen safe spaces through sports.
In 2019, aiming at reaching out to vulnerable children, FCC transferred its methodology Fútbol por la Paz (FPLP) to the Los Angeles Soccer Club, a community-based sports organization based in Barrio Colón in La Chorrera, West Panama, a neighborhood where youth often find themselves exposed to drugs, violence and sexual abuse.
The FPLP Methodology turns football matches into an effective pedagogical experience by modifying conventional sports rules to guarantee the equal participation of boys and girls.
Los Angeles Soccer Club is made up of 65 children and adolescents from Panama, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Colombia and Costa Rica. The youth train in a community field administered by the Panamanian Red Cross and also provide first aid workshops and physical training.
Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your football life?
My name is Ysabella Quintero, I am 12 years old and I have played soccer since I was nine years old. I came to Panama with my mom and dad four years ago from Venezuela as a result of the insecurity and everything that is happening there. My parents received threats because they were protesting against the government.
I did not play football before coming to Panama. I played the flute and was in the choir of the music school. I would like to play until I am a professional like the Venezuelan football player Deyna Castellano, she is a person I admire a lot.
What did you try to show with the photos?
I wanted to show my teammates from Los Angeles Soccer during soccer training. It was the first practice after the pandemic. In other photos I am alone practicing at home because we were in quarantine and we could not go out to play on the pitches. I wanted to show that we can always practice, no matter the circumstances or the place.
During the training, you can see the joy of all of us finally seeing each other, practicing soccer together and being able to share. We really needed that.
What role do soccer and Fútbol Con Corazón play in your life right now?
Thanks to Fútbol Con Corazón I learn to put values into practice on the pitch. There I feel that I release my energy, I am very excited to be able to play and train.
Through football I make new friends, I challenge myself to improve, practice, I see my failures when losing and winning. Panama is a country that believes in and supports soccer a lot.
