LONDON:

Silveria Nedio beamed as she watched young footballers from the soccer school she is in charge of battling on the pitch in Praia ahead of Cape Verde’s first ever World Cup.

“We are a small country, but the dream is big,” she said.

For the first time in history, the tiny volcanic archipelago of just 525,000 people, one of the smallest countries in the world, has qualified for the competition.

The mood was exuberant on a recent morning in late May at the Bola pra Frente (Forward) soccer school, where students hone their skills.

Their dribbles, feints, belly flops and goals were greeted with cheers, as shouts such as “just pass the ball!” echoed about and youthful faces glistened with sweat.

Nedio, known as “Nita”, is the president of the school, several of whose alumni are in the World Cup squad.

She believes that “during the competition, Cape Verde will be seen like France, Argentina, as one of the world’s great teams”.

The 60-year-old, who is also the coach of the country’s women’s team, started playing “at the age of six, in the street with the boys”.

For Rafael Semedo, a 14-year-old student, Cape Verde’s World Cup qualification “proves that with a lot of training and commitment, it’s possible to achieve great things”.

– ‘Indescribable joy’ –

Football academies have proliferated across the archipelago in recent years, and enrolment has increased ever since the Blue Sharks qualified.

Among those schools is the renowned Escola de PreparacaoIntegral de Futebol (EPIF), which has also produced several of the World Cup squad’s players.

Students seated in a circle listened with rapt attention as EPIF coach Odair Rodrigues spoke to them from the school grounds on the outskirts of Praia.

The youngsters began their warm-up, clapping in rhythm alongside other children from the underprivileged neighbourhood who played barefoot.

For Rodrigues, the World Cup qualification “represents the dream of many Cape Verdean coaches and footballers, the dream of the nation”.

“My mission is to keep fuelling this enthusiasm among young people,” he said.

EPIF aims to integrate students from across Cape Verde, including its poorer neighbourhoods, he explained.

Luciano Correia, 16, said the World Cup qualification created a moment of “indescribable joy”.

“My grandparents and parents have never seen the national team qualify for the World Cup,” he said.

Cape Verde play European champions Spain in their first match on June 15, followed by two-time World Cup winners Uruguay (June 22) and round off their group stage campaign against Saudi Arabia (June 27).

“We’re going to face some very strong teams, but we have to go there with our heads held high, win or lose it will have been a good experience,” Correia said.

At the end of May the Blue Sharks went on an island tour that garnered enthusiastic crowds and included a frenzied batucadaconcert, mingling with fans, players signing T-shirts and lively dancing.

“The entire Cape Verdean population is proud of the team, and people feel that the team is a reflection of our people,” national team coach Pedro Leitao Brito told AFP.

Captain Ryan Mendes, who has been with the team for nearly 16 years, said he has “always dreamed” of this moment and hopes the World Cup “will open doors for many young people”.

“There is talent in every sport” in Cape Verde, he said. “There’s music too. There’s so much to see in this country.”

‘Natural talent’ 

The Blue Sharks have benefitted from greater media coverage in recent years. Young people no longer only focus on Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi or European football, but also players from their own national team.

“Our level is very good,” Nedio said, adding that “our children have natural talent, but we don’t have many resources” for training.

As is often the case in the evenings, on weekends and on holidays, Gamboa Beach in Praia was packed with players, making do with whatever equipment they could find, in bare feet and with tyres marking the goal line.

A perspiring Jorge Pina said he believed that “the country is ecstatic” ahead of the World Cup.

“For us, football is like cachupa,” he said, referencing Cape Verde’s national dish.

“Football morning, noon and night, Cape Verde is all about football.”