2024-04-15 10:36:20
Text: Editorial Cuba Noticias 360
Three Cuban soccer players will be signed by the Real Pococí club of the first division of the Costa Rican Women’s League, the specialized site Fútbol por Interior announced.
The contract can be considered historic because for the first time Cubans will join clubs in Central America through the Cuban Football Association.
The Cuban players Alianne Matamoros, Katherin Rodríguez and Lilian Pérez will move to Costa Rica in the coming days to join the ranks of this team that, although it has suffered various ups and downs in recent times, has remained at the first level of women’s soccer. in the Central American nation.
Jesús Pereira, General Secretary of the AFC and responsible for this modality for several years, said that this agreement could open the doors to more players on the island.
Unfortunately, women’s soccer in Cuba has not yet achieved the expected dividends, despite being also among the support destinations of FIFA and which has already announced that it will continue to send much more money and experts for development among its member countries.
A veteran coach, who preferred not to be identified, consulted by Cuba News 360 He said that “it has not yet been possible to attract the attention of the fans with a full-fledged national women’s championship and nor has a good international result been achieved, which is key.”
Although to a lesser extent compared to men, women’s football has suffered losses due to desertions of important players.
“Hopefully this insertion in Costa Rica will be an incentive for women’s soccer in Cuba,” he added.
In 2018, in the last meeting between both countries, Costa Rica defeated Cuba 8×0 in a Concacaf World Cup.
Projects with women’s soccer in Cuba are not new. In 1952, the first teams were formed in the Puentes Grandes neighborhood in Havana, which coincidentally held their first international matches with the Costa Rican national team.
In December the Cubans traveled to Costa Rica for several friendly matches under the direction of Cuban coach Mario Cubas Valdés, known as “Mayorkas”, considered the father of this modality on the island.
In the 1990s, aided by Mayorkas, former star player Gregorio “Goyo” Dalmau dedicated himself to the development of this sport, which continued to be affected by instability in support.
In this new stage, attacker Katherin Rodríguez will travel to Costa Rica, who in 2019 was selected as the best youth player in Cuba.
Lilian Pérez has participated in most of the tournaments in recent years. Both stood out in the last Concacaf World Cup, and goalkeeper Alianne Matamoros has been a starter for the national team for several years.