New import: American
football to be played
now in Costa Rica
(Infocom) — Even though
the Super Bowl will
probably never be played
here, the truth of the
matter is that American
football — perhaps the
most practiced and loved
of all sports in the
United States — is
gaining ground in Costa
Rica, wit the
incorporation of the
Costa Rican American
Football Association (ACFA).
Benjamin Vega, an
American football coach,
said this association
has been supporting the
practice of this sport
in Costa Rica with the
future goal of creating
a national federation.
“I played in schools in
the United States, and
because I’m so
interested in the sport,
I have continued to
practice it here in
Costa Rica,” Vega said.
Several high schools
have signed up to play a
national championship,
among them Country Day,
Kamuk, Light House, San
Paul and Saint Clare,
which will begin
competing next year in
what would be the first
official competition of
its kind in the history
of Costa Rica. The sport
is played at the youth,
high school, university
and adult.
Organizers hope that
once the American
football league is put
together, 16 university
teams will also compete
using soccer fields, as
they have similar
dimensions as typical
U.S. football pitches.
In order to promote the
practice of American
football here, ACFA will
offer clinics with
former players and
coaches from the United
States, who will help
promote the sport in the
youth leagues. Another
possibility that is
being explored is to
bring National Football
League (NFL) teams here
for exhibition games.
“The idea is to promote
the game as much as
possible in the country.
Right now we are only
working with private
schools because of the
cost of uniforms and
implements needed, but
we can use soccer fields
because that’s needed is
to mark them
accordingly,” Vega said.
“This is the first time
that American football
is being promoted in
this way, and so we will
create a referee
commission and a
federation. There are
people from all over the
country interested in
helping us.”
Meanwhile, Reyhan Fraile,
president of ACFA, said
that once the federation
is established, the goal
is to create an adult
league depending on the
number of teams
expressing interest in
participating.
“The tournament is
scheduled for the second
Saturday of January,
with seven high schools
confirmed,” Fraile said.
“There is a process we
have started with ICODER
(the Costa Rican Sports
Institute) to establish
a federation. Right now
there’s much expectation
here, and within five
years we’d like to have
a national stadium.”
Regarding perceptions
about this sport in
Costa Rica, Fraile said
that American football
“is a very complete
sport, because it is
physical, mental and
strategic because of
everything that entails,
like chess on turf.” |
