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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><SPAN class=TopStory>Real Madrid's interest in Jamaica should be encouraged</SPAN>
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Saturday, March 10, 2007
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<P class=StoryText align=justify>Spanish football club Real Madrid's expressed interest in establishing a model of its Social Integration Sports Academies programme here presents an opportunity that, we have no doubt, the Government will grasp with both hands.<P class=StoryText align=justify>For, as we reported in yesterday's edition of the Daily Observer, this programme not only promotes sports and sports values, it helps underprivileged youngsters improve their lives through access to social services, education, vocational training, psychological assistance and medical care.<P class=StoryText align=justify>In fact, according to Mr Carlos Abella, the director-general of the Real Madrid Foundation, which runs the now 10-year-old programme, its entry into Latin American countries has benefited more than 3,000 youngsters, and new academies are to open this year in Mexico and Uruguay.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Jamaica has its fair share of underprivileged young people who are in dire need of the kinds of opportunities such as those offered by the Real Madrid programme to better their lives.<P class=StoryText align=justify>It is with that in mind that we encourage the Government to waste no time in engaging the Spanish in further discussions on the implementation of this programme here.
For the quicker we can rescue as many of these needy youngsters as possible, the better will be our chances of overcoming the vicious cycle of crime and violence that plagues our country.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Sports, as we all know and accept, can lift people out of poverty, shape human character and play a major role in social integration. But any success in that effort is largely dependent on the vision and commitment of sports administrators and their ability to effectively communicate the possible benefits.<P class=StoryText align=justify>But even more vital, the participants in any such programme need to share the vision, see the effort as their own and must embrace it for any measure of success to be achieved.<P class=StoryText align=justify>We have no knowledge of how Real Madrid structures and implements this Social Integration Sports Academies programme. However, we expect that the club and the Jamaican Government, once they have reached an agreement, will shape the model to be implemented here bearing in mind the cultural and social differences between Spain and Jamaica.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The Jamaican youngsters who can benefit from this programme are many. Here's hoping for its successful implementation here.
<SPAN class=Subheadline></SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>
Saturday, March 10, 2007
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P class=StoryText align=justify>Spanish football club Real Madrid's expressed interest in establishing a model of its Social Integration Sports Academies programme here presents an opportunity that, we have no doubt, the Government will grasp with both hands.<P class=StoryText align=justify>For, as we reported in yesterday's edition of the Daily Observer, this programme not only promotes sports and sports values, it helps underprivileged youngsters improve their lives through access to social services, education, vocational training, psychological assistance and medical care.<P class=StoryText align=justify>In fact, according to Mr Carlos Abella, the director-general of the Real Madrid Foundation, which runs the now 10-year-old programme, its entry into Latin American countries has benefited more than 3,000 youngsters, and new academies are to open this year in Mexico and Uruguay.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Jamaica has its fair share of underprivileged young people who are in dire need of the kinds of opportunities such as those offered by the Real Madrid programme to better their lives.<P class=StoryText align=justify>It is with that in mind that we encourage the Government to waste no time in engaging the Spanish in further discussions on the implementation of this programme here.
For the quicker we can rescue as many of these needy youngsters as possible, the better will be our chances of overcoming the vicious cycle of crime and violence that plagues our country.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Sports, as we all know and accept, can lift people out of poverty, shape human character and play a major role in social integration. But any success in that effort is largely dependent on the vision and commitment of sports administrators and their ability to effectively communicate the possible benefits.<P class=StoryText align=justify>But even more vital, the participants in any such programme need to share the vision, see the effort as their own and must embrace it for any measure of success to be achieved.<P class=StoryText align=justify>We have no knowledge of how Real Madrid structures and implements this Social Integration Sports Academies programme. However, we expect that the club and the Jamaican Government, once they have reached an agreement, will shape the model to be implemented here bearing in mind the cultural and social differences between Spain and Jamaica.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The Jamaican youngsters who can benefit from this programme are many. Here's hoping for its successful implementation here.
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