Photos: Football around the world
Feb 1, 2013
The Super Bowl is one of sports’ most celebrated events – a game that elevates the scores of backyard pick-up games and rag-tag contests of flag football. In honor of Sunday’s game, we celebrate young athletes who play "football" around the world. —Elizabeth Hendley
©2010 Jon Warren/World Vision
Children in the St. Marie Therese camp for internally displaced persons in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, create a moment of joy following the 2010 earthquake.
©2009 World Vision
Steadied by his mother, Ani Chitemyan Razmik, 9, tosses a ball with his father at the family’s home in Armenia. Ani was born with infantile cerebral paralysis and was able to attend a World Vision-run summer camp, where he enjoyed “a holiday at least for a few days in his life,” says Ani’s mother, Marine.
©2011 Collins Kaumba/World Vision
Ten-year-old Annie Chola, a sponsored child in Zambia, with her homemade soccer ball.
©2010 Astrid Zacipa/World Vision
No need for matching uniforms — in Colombia, several boys play a pick-up game of soccer with improvised goalposts.
©2006 World Vision
Even tattered soccer balls are in high demand among children in East Timor.
©2012 Lisa Berglund/World Vision
Samuel Karangwa, 4, shows off his handmade soccer ball in Kigeme Refugee Camp, Rwanda.
©2010 David duChemin/World Vision
Practice makes perfect. In Senegal, Tidiane Diao, 7, chases his soccer ball down the road.
©2010 Collins Kaumba/World Vision
Sponsored children in Zambia practice for a friendly scrimmage match against local visiting teams in preparation for the provincial competition.
©2009 Andrew Goodwin/World Vision
In Tanzania, Steven takes a break from collecting water for his family to play with his homemade soccer ball, made of plastic bags tied with string.
©2012 Collins Kaumba/World Vision
In Zambia, Kizito hopes that one he will have a chance to play in the Olympics. "Football and education can both help me succeed in life," he says.
