The Fields Of Santo Domingo

Leonardo Brenes, Costa Rica

My name is Leonardo Brenes, I´m from Costa Rica. I study medicine and am a big football fan. Since I was a boy, my mum, grandma, aunts and uncles showed me how incredible, passionate and exciting football was. For example, my grandma was 98 years old when she died, and I remember her always watching almost every match of her favourite team. My mother always supported me when I participated in my school team when I was a kid. I remember when I was 12 she took me to a school of football. I played there for a while, learning a lot of good things and making a lot of good friends - a few of them are now playing in the main championship here at Costa Rica. 

At present I am following European clubs and of course my Costa Rican team; my favourite European team is Juventus, but I also like other teams such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Spurs, PSG, and Bayern Munich. I like to watch every game and even if I don’t go to the stadium, I live every game as if I were there.

Who is in the photos?

There are amateur teams, junior teams, and adult teams that are made from colleagues of the same profession. The junior teams that we watch are local teams from where I live, one is called “Gekkos”, and the other is Municipal´s Santo Domingo. The two adult teams are made up of professional colleagues – a team of public accountants, and a team of engineers. 

The Gekkos football school is a football academy that has several divisions in which they try to form and place young players at important teams in Costa Rica. 

Where were the photos taken?

The kids were playing at Santo Domingo de Heredia, Costa Rica; this field is for community use, and many teams in the area organise amateur league games.  The adults are playing at a field located at Professional College of Public Accountants of Costa Rica; this field is for the use of the members of this professional college.

What did you try to show with the photos? Was there other wider meaning?

I tried to show how friends and family meet at these games, how they join together to support the ones who are playing on the field. It’s a recreational activity far away from staying at home doing nothing. If you could hear how everyone doesn´t stop screaming and cheering their favourite teams in every match, you would also get excited about the game. 

I also tried to show that even if they are amateur teams, they train every day to try to play better and to be more competitive in every game, showing how soccer goes beyond just a sport. Some people that have played and work in football, they are now dedicating their lives and their knowledge to share their football experience with the youth. This is good for our country to develop more at football. 

What role does football play in Costa Rica and its society?

Football is the main sport in Costa Rica - I don’t know how people could live without football. It is part of our culture, every weekend we have the national championship, families and friends make their plans to watch the game at someone´s house, the stadium, or maybe they go to a sports bar and have a good time. The FEDEFUT (Federación de Fútbol de Costa Rica) and our health authorities have promoted the sport a lot, to improve our level but also to promote health and exercise. 

I think the role of football in Costa Rica is really important because it is a sport that allows people to exercise but also to make them feel good. Football takes people to other places and makes them forget all the other things. Some people love to watch games, but a lot of people also love to play it. We have many fields in which people go to play against friends or against their work mates.

What does football mean to you?

To me football is a big passion - it makes me feel happy and excited. You know that feeling when your football team has an important game and you feel like you're the one who's going to play on the field. I enjoy being in the stands or on the field. To me it is an indescribable feeling. Football is a passion and something that most “Ticos” take deeply in our hearts. We are so used to having football in our lives that we will keep sharing this passion with our grandchildren, generations on generations.

What is the future for Costa Rica football?

It´s really hard to say what future will hold for us, a lot of people are working hard to form and teach youth how to be good football players. Our last generation (our Brazil 2014 World Cup national team) showed that we can have good players and that we can give a good show worldwide. We have hope in the managers that are trying to make this sport grow for our country. 

Football for Costa Rica has also big limitations. Some good players are from rural areas, and do not have the money and resources to develop or to participate as they should. Government and local institutions are constantly trying to help the good players, so they can develop and become recognised players. In my personal opinion, some players who represent us at international championships do not understand what they are standing for, and they don’t give their best to represent our national team, as they should. To me, we need players that feel the shirt, and fight for our flag. We need to select players that represent our country with more will and courage, to repeat our great participation at the Brazil 2014 World Cup.