The route started in five municipalities in the Atlantic and will continue until May in Magdalena, Bolívar, Sucre and Córdoba. In the Caribbean region alone, a total of 2,500 children and young people will benefit.
The camps will be led by soccer figures such as Liliana Zapata, Abel Aguilar, Fabián Vargas and Macnelly Torres.
This third edition has 40 camps that benefit 8,000 children and young people from vulnerable populations in the five regions of Colombia.
Under the motto “With football, from the heart”, Bancolombia carried out Football Camps in the department of Atlántico, in which it trained 1,200 children and young people, from 6 to 16 years old. The purpose: to create opportunities through football and inspire children to become the pride of the national sport.
The camp sessions held in the municipalities of Puerto Colombia, Soledad, Usiacurí, Suan, Repelón and in the city of Barranquilla, had the participation of renowned former professional soccer players such as Abel Aguilar, Fabián Vargas and Macnelly Torres, all three from the National Team Colombia. Furthermore, convinced of sport as a path towards equality, soccer player Liliana Zapata, who has trained the best female players in the country, joins the project in this edition in which girls will be the protagonists.
These spaces were divided into three stages: training with theory and practice for teachers and coaches; physical-technical spaces where children learned techniques through playing on the court; and, talks with experts for parents in order to emphasize solidarity, honesty and respect as fundamental values on and off the court.
“When we see football from the heart, we understand that more than a sport, it is a powerful tool of social transformation to unite our communities and fight for the well-being of all. That is why we develop real training that inspires children to see better opportunities for life in soccer,” says Adriana Arismendi, corporate vice president of Marketing and Digital Sales at Bancolombia.
This year there will be 8,000 children in 40 camps nationwide, who will be impacted by this strategy, which is now in its third version and which, in total, reached 11,000 children between 2022 and 2023. The schools participating in the camps are identified in each territory, making the connection of the community gain value for them. This task is carried out hand in hand with the Fútbol con Corazón Foundation (FCC).
Regarding this initiative, soccer player Liliana Zapata comments that, “when the invitation came to be captain of the camps, it was a dream, a distinction and an enormous commitment. Contributing to balancing the presence of women in this sport is key. “Football is a game that allows us to create discipline, responsibility, maturity and a sense of belonging and gives us the opportunity to show ourselves as complete human beings.” The route will continue in May in the Caribbean region to train a total of 2,500 children and young people. Properly in Magdalena, 3 and 4 in Santa Marta; Ciénaga, 7 and 8; Plate, 10 and 11.
In Bolívar, soccer camps will be held in Cartagena, on May 17 and 18; in Sucre it will be in Coveñas, on the 22nd and 23rd; and in Córdoba in Tierra Alta, on the 29th and 30th.
As Official Partner of the Colombian Soccer Teams, Bancolombia will continue until November taking this initiative to Antioquia, Chocó, Cundinamarca, Huila, Quindío, Valle del Cauca, Nariño, Cauca, Guaviare and Meta, to continue contributing to the well-being of the communities and leave footprint in the most remote corners of the country.
