Believe it or not, it is true: Costa Rica will now begin to play American Football professionally. An American Football coach named Benjamin Vega has created the Costa Rican American Football Association (ACFA) with the future goal of actually creating a Football Federation in a near future. Apparently, several highschools (mostly private schools) have signed up to play a national championship, among these schools areCountry Day, Kamuk, Light House, San Paul and Saint Clare. The national football championship which will begin competing next year in what would be the first official competition of its kind in the history of Costa Rica.
Costa Rica has several professional leagues in different sports such as swimming, volleyball, basketball and of course soccer, which is the most followed sport in Costa Rica. Organizers have high hopes with the inclusion of this sport in Costa Rica and they expect that at least 16 university teams may compete using soccer fields, as they have similar dimensions as typical U.S. football pitches once the American footballleague is put together. At the moment, Reyhan Fraile, president of ACFA, has expressed his wish to create an adult league once the federation is established. The first American football tournament is scheduled for the second Saturday of January, with seven high schools confirmed
In Costa Rica, athletes have proved that discipline and strength can be reached no matter the social status, collecting several medals trophies and achieving high numbers in several championships worldwide. This effort has also been recognized by the Chinese government: this year the construction of a new and very modern national stadium was possible through a donation from that country to Costa Rica in an effort to motivate young athletes to pursue their dreams.
It is very impressive how Costa Rica continues thriving to give more and more positive activities for youngsters, the efforts made everyday to keep going further and further in education, technology and now sports proves that Costa Rica is definitely not the third world country some of us thought it was.
