Sat, Jul 25, 2015
On the occasion of the start of the opening process of the Cuban embassies in Washington and the US in Havana, 'Informe Semanal' has traveled to the island to reflect on the reflection of the change that the Castro regime is undergoing. There you will see that the opening has begun with everyday aspects such as soccer, a sport that has never been as mainstream as baseball, athletics or boxing, but which now reaches Cuban society as the greatest exponent of change. Before, Cubans couldn't watch soccer on television, but now they can. The devotion that Cubans feel for soccer and for Real Madrid and Barcelona will be seen, through testimonials from Cuban fans or soccer players, as well as established stars such as Raúl and Pelé.
Whilst baseball is Cuba's national sport, football (or what Americans know as soccer and is known in Spanish as futbol), is becoming increasingly popular.
These days on the island, people seem more interested to play football rather than baseball, certainly one reason seeming to be the difference in cost between the games.
All you need of course is one football and you can literally play with little else, as highlighted in other parts of the Americas such as Brazil, where many people play bare-footed on the beaches.
With baseball on the other hand. without the right equipment (much of which is costly) it is not possible to play.
Baseball has thus become more distant from the economics of many Cubans.
The rising popularity of soccer in Cuba is also a result of the global reach of the game and teams such as FC Barcelona and Real Madrid have captured the imagination of Cubans.
Football has long been the national sport in the Americas including in Argentina, Brazil and within the Caribbean, several players have come out of Jamaica, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago.
The appeal of football has now reached the island of Cuba but there remains one key problem.
Within Cuba, sportspeople are not permitted to turn professional and this has resulted in the past, in some players choosing to defect abroad.
One of the most famous defectors is Osvaldo Alonso, a player who played in Washington State in the USA, for the Seattle Sounders FC, in the MLS (Major League Soccer) league.
Whilst baseball is Cuba's national sport, football (or what Americans know as soccer and is known in Spanish as futbol), is becoming increasingly popular.
These days on the island, people seem more interested to play football rather than baseball, certainly one reason seeming to be the difference in cost between the games.
All you need of course is one football and you can literally play with little else, as highlighted in other parts of the Americas such as Brazil, where many people play bare-footed on the beaches.
With baseball on the other hand. without the right equipment (much of which is costly) it is not possible to play.
Baseball has thus become more distant from the economics of many Cubans.
The rising popularity of soccer in Cuba is also a result of the global reach of the game and teams such as FC Barcelona and Real Madrid have captured the imagination of Cubans.
Football has long been the national sport in the Americas including in Argentina, Brazil and within the Caribbean, several players have come out of Jamaica, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago.
The appeal of football has now reached the island of Cuba but there remains one key problem.
Within Cuba, sportspeople are not permitted to turn professional and this has resulted in the past, in some players choosing to defect abroad.
One of the most famous defectors is Osvaldo Alonso, a player who played in Washington State in the USA, for the Seattle Sounders FC, in the MLS (Major League Soccer) league.