More space for Inter Campus Paraguay to play

ASUNCIÓN – We enter the large military sports centre in Zeballos Cué at walking pace in our car. Rather than documents, they recognise the Nerazzurri kits and the many children who are accompanying the car on foot. They let us pass, welcoming us in the process.

For a few months now, this multi-sports complex managed by the army has been available to Inter Campus four times a week. The youngsters from the Aldeas Infantil SOS Paraguay orphanage arrive one after another, armed with just their Inter shirts and smiles. They train together alongside other teams and surrounded by other sports. The pitch we play on has a slight slope, but this doesn’t affect the fun. In fact, the unpredictable bounces of the ball make it all the more entertaining.

Accompanying them are a few parents and many Aldeas mothers, women who offer accommodation to children without families or children who have been abandoned. They welcome the youngsters into their homes as if they were their sons or daughters. Mutual support initiatives like this are important for the whole community, as are sport and football: the latter helps create companionship not just on the pitch but also in life.